Aaron Judge earns All-Star berth as leading MLB vote-getter, Juan Soto an outfield Phase 2 finalist

Aaron Judge, 2024 American League All-Star!

Phase 1 of voting for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game ended on Thursday, and when it did, Judge was the leading vote-getter in all of MLB – meaning he automatically passes Phase 2, and will be a starter in the July 16 game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Judge and the Phillies’ Bryce Harper were the leading vote-getters in each respective league, with our Captain earning the high total of 3,425,309 votes off the back of his .309/.433/.712 slash line and MLB-leading 30 home runs entering Thursday.

This is the sixth All-Star selection for Judge, all fan-selected, and his third in a row. Only one other Yankee qualified for Phase 2 as one of the top two vote-getters at their position (four plus Judge among outfielders) and that was Juan Soto, who will vie for one of two other starting outfield spots against Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, Baltimore’s Anthony Santander, and Houston’s Kyle Tucker.

Soto’s 3,000,121 votes were the fourth-most in MLB behind Judge, Harper, and Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm, giving the Yanks and Phils each a 1-2 sweep in top vote-getters in their leagues.

That’s the only New York flair, as no Mets were among the finalists elsewhere in senior circuit voting. Giancarlo Stanton had been second in AL DH voting as of Monday’s final pre-closing ballot update, but was passed by Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn, who instead will battle Houston’s Yordan Alvarez for the starting spot.

The second phase of voting will begin on June 30 and conclude on July 3, with the top vote getter at each position (two/three in the outfield) among the smaller pools to be named All-Star starters; as always, pitchers and reserves will be selected by a combination of player vote and the commissioner's office, and full All-Star rosters will be revealed on July 7.