New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Five members of the defending champion Kansas City Royals remain front-runners for starting positions in the latest American League All-Star balloting release.
Catcher Salvador Perez has collected the most votes among AL players with 2,681,003, with third baseman Mike Moustakas, shortstop Alcides Escobar and outfielder Lorenzo Cain also still on top at their respective positions. Alex Gordon currently stands third in the outfield vote, with Los Angeles Angels star and reigning league MVP Mike Trout holding second.
Three other Royals currently stand second at their spots. Eric Hosmer trails Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera by just over 70,000 votes at first base, while Kendrys Morales is around 280,000 back of Seattle's Nelson Cruz for the top place among designated hitter. Kansas City's Omar Infante is the present runner-up at second place, though Houston's Jose Altuve continues to own a healthy lead there.
Only the 1976 Cincinnati Reds -- with Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion and George Foster -- had five starters for the All-Star Game since fan balloting returned in 1970.
This year's All-Star Game is scheduled for July 14 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
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