Cardinals deserving of All-Star honors on the outside of controversial fan vote

The St. Louis Cardinals are quickly approaching the halfway point of the season and while us fans start to think about ordering tickets for October baseball, some players are waiting to see where they will spend the All-Star break. The first voting update trickled in on Monday and somehow, Jordan Walker was the only Cardinal in position to head to Philadelphia, but even the MVP candidate is in danger of missing the Midsummer Classic as a starter.

Despite the Cardinals having the current National League Rookie of the Year favorite, an MVP and Comeback Player candidate, as well as a first baseman on an otherworldly tear, St. Louis may be shutout of the starting lineup. Even with the team sitting in postseason position with no small thanks to that trio, the first round of voting done by the fans show that the Cardinals are still underrated or underpublicized

The Cardinals need fan support to get their deserving players into the All-Star game in Philadelphia

In the first voting update, it was a shock to not see at least one Cardinal in primo position to head to Philly on July 14. As of Monday, only Jordan Walker was currently in the running to advance to the second round of the vote after the fan vote concludes on June 25. Walker is currently tied for the NL lead in RBI and sits within the top five in multiple other offensive categories as his breakout season continues. Even with that list of accolades, Walker still needs help to advance to the second round as he needs to hold off the scorching James Wood for the final spot.

At least Walker is currently in position to advance and that is more than rookie JJ Wetherholt and first baseman Alec Burleson are able to say. Burleson currently sits fifth among first basemen, but he is over 700,000 votes behind position leader Freddie Freeman. Burleson has put together another stellar season so far, but has to compete with Freeman and other sluggers Matt Olson and Bryce Harper.

As for Wetherholt, there is really no arguing that he should be much higher, if not at the top of the leaderboard. Currently, the Cardinals rookie is sitting in ninth place, and looking at the names above him, there at least has to be a discussion how he could rank higher than each of those players. Across the board, Phillies players litter the top vote getters since the game will be held in their home ballpark, but seeing guys like Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm makes the call for fixing the fan vote much louder.

While there is still time to stack the ballot box, everyone outside of Walker is likely going to need coach support to hear their names added to the rosters in July. With the consistent play of Wetherholt and Burleson, it would not be a surprise to see either, if not both of those players heading to Philly, but designated hitter Ivan Herrera will probably have to tune into the game from home. Fans can vote five times per day and can do so until June 25.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow