Cincinnati Reds shortstop Zack Cozart has moved ahead of Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the latest National League balloting update for the 2017 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, it was announced earlier today on MLB Network. The next balloting update for the American League will be announced tomorrow. The 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, which is available exclusively online via MLB.com, Club sites and mobile devices, will be accessible until the voting period ends on Thursday, June 29th at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
Cozart, who is aiming for his first career All-Star selection, has tallied 997,966 votes, while Seager, a 2016 All-Star and the 2016 NL Rookie of the Year, has a total of 804,788 votes. Cozart would become the first Reds shortstop to earn a fan election since Hall of Famer Barry Larkin drew consecutive fan-elected starting assignments in 1999 and 2000. The 31-year-old Cozart, who was drafted by the Reds in the second round of the 2007 Draft, is second among NL hitters with five triples and ranks fifth with a .329 batting average. In addition, he leads NL shortstops with 68 hits, a .416 on-base percentage and a .580 slugging percentage, while his nine home runs are tied for first. Seager, who also has nine homers, leads NL shortstops with 45 runs scored and 17 doubles.
The remaining NL leaders include: first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals (1,060,532); second baseman Daniel Murphy of the Nationals (1,745,231); third baseman Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs (1,248,348); catcher Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants (1,357,467); and outfielders Bryce Harper of the Nationals (2,132,795), Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies (1,588,498) and Jason Heyward of the Cubs (737,147).