Monday afternoon saw Major League Baseball release the final National League pre-selection voting update for the 2011 MLB All Star Game. The starters will be announced next week, which means players are officially running out of time to secure a starting spot. For the San Francisco Giants, Pablo Sandoval was the last chance for a starting spot but he continues to lose votes to Placido Polanco who looks set to secure the starting third base job. Catcher Buster Posey remains in third place in spite of his injury while Brian McCann seems set to make his first All Star Game start. Freddy Sanchez is holding down fifth place among second basemen even though he finds himself on the shelf at this point.
The Giants will likely end up with at least two or three players on the NL roster thanks to some solid starting pitching and Bruce Bochy being the team manager. If I were to make any predictions, I'd suspect we'll see Brian Wilson on the roster and likely closing the game next month if the NL is in a save situation. Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain would appear likely to grab another spot, particularly if Lincecum can close out the first half of the season with a few strong performances.
The real interesting case will be Ryan Vogelsong. Since replacing Barry Zito, Vogelsong has gone on quite the tear with nine straight starts in which he has given up two or fewer runs. At his current pace, with enough innings he could find himself leading all of baseball in earned run average. If that's the case, I'm not sure how anybody can justify not including him on the roster.
2011 NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING (as of June 26)
CATCHER
Brian McCann, Braves: 3,062,884
Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 2,271,887
Buster Posey, Giants: 1,849,984
Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers: 1,451,280
Carlos Ruiz, Phillies: 1,392,944
FIRST BASE
Albert Pujols, Cardinals: 3,358,432
Prince Fielder, Brewers: 2,903,584
Joey Votto, Reds: 2,832,857
Ryan Howard, Phillies: 1,881,711
Freddie Freeman, Braves: 702,911
SECOND BASE
Rickie Weeks, Brewers: 2,869,583
Brandon Phillips, Reds: 2,791,186
Chase Utley, Phillies: 2,406,965
Dan Uggla, Braves: 1,223,812
Freddy Sanchez, Giants: 1,184,145
THIRD BASE
Placido Polanco, Phillies: 3,261,718
Chipper Jones, Braves: 2,040,594
Pablo Sandoval, Giants: 1,584,671
David Wright, Mets: 1,497,778
Scott Rolen, Reds: 1,417,248
SHORTSTOP
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies: 2,955,609
Jose Reyes, Mets: 2,710,777
Jimmy Rollins, Phillies: 1,724,166
Alex Gonzalez, Braves: 1,142,470
Yuniesky Betancourt, Brewers: 1,131,078
OUTFIELD
Ryan Braun, Brewers: 3,932,100
Lance Berkman, Cardinals: 3,208,183
Matt Holliday, Cardinals: 2,935,965
Matt Kemp, Dodgers: 2,743,927
Andre Ethier, Dodgers: 2,264,640
Jay Bruce, Reds: 2,119,267
Shane Victorino, Phillies: 1,742,128
Carlos Beltran, Mets: 1,639,362
Jason Heyward, Braves: 1,302,127
Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies: 1,253,728
Raul Ibanez, Phillies: 1,239,678
Corey Hart, Brewers: 1,217,629
Justin Upton, D-backs: 1,141,296
Carlos Gomez, Brewers: 1,016,685
Martin Prado, Braves: 1,012,084