ATLANTA—The song remains the same for Freddie Freeman, despite the rough week at the plate.
On Monday, Major League Baseball revealed that Freeman's still standing as the National League's top vote-getter for the upcoming All-Star Game; and similar to last week, two other Braves lead their respective positions in NL voting.
Throw in the possibility of pitcher Mike Foltynewicz (2.16 ERA, 94/33 K-BB) or rookie Sean Newcomb (8-2, 2.59 ERA) drawing the start for the Senior Circuit on July 17, and Atlanta could boast four NL starters in Washington D.C.
But that's a story for another day. Soon after the Fourth of July holiday.
(Note: Hometown hero Max Scherzer remains the heavy favorite to garner the NL start at Nationals Park.)
Current leaders Freeman (2.2 million votes), second baseman Ozzie Albies (1.41 million votes) and outfielder Nick Markakis (1.83 million votes) must power through the final phase of fan voting.
With 10 days left in this process, anything could still happen on the Web-balloting side.
Check that. Right now, it would take a logistical miracle for Freeman (15 HR, 53 RBI, 48 runs, 21 doubles, .327 batting) to lose his positional battle. Yes, he struggled mightily at the plate last week (zero homers, .179 batting), but one small sample size cannot diminish the luster of Freeman's tour-de-force campaign with the Braves.
Case in point: Freeman had more votes last week (1.43 million) ... than any first baseman carried this week; and given how the Braves basher boasts elite-level tallies with on-base percentage (.415), slugging rate (.565) and OPS (.980), his starting candidacy seems more inevitable than hopeful.
Freeman's competition: Among first basemen Anthony Rizzo, Brandon Belt, Cody Bellinger and Joey Votto, none have reached the mark of 900,000 votes (as of June 25).
Case closed.
Last week, Albies outdistanced the Cubs' Javier Baez by 150,000-plus votes. Over the last seven days, however, Albies' lead has mushroomed to 220,000-plus votes.
There are two explanations for this quick separation:
a) Braves fans have been consistently hitting the so-called ballot box over the last month.
b) Albies just enjoyed a seven-day span of three RBI, five runs, .444 batting and an on-base percentage of .464.
Two weeks ago, Markakis (1.83 million votes) eclipsed Bryce Harper for the No. 1 outfield slot. Since then, former Brave Matt Kemp (now with the Dodgers) has supplanted Harper as the No. 2 outfielder.
Regardless of how it cuts, though, Markakis, Kemp and Harper are virtual locks to secure starting spots 10 days from now. Harper leads the Rockies' Charlie Blackmon by 400,000-plus votes.
Similar to last Monday, Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. (932,989 votes) and Ender Inciarte (828,451 votes) remain entrenched in the No. 5 and 6 spots, respectively.
The first-place Braves (44-32) possess a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL East.
The significance is twofold: It's tied for the largest lead among the National League divisions; and Atlanta hasn't enjoyed this much East separation since April 2014.
The next voting update for the National League comes on July 2.
NL CURRENT VOTING LEADERS
C Buster Posey, Giants—1.04 million
1B Freddie Freeman, Braves—2.2 million
2B Ozzie Albies, Braves—1.4 million
SS Brandon Crawford, Giants—1.7 million
3B Nolan Arenado, Rockies—1.17 million
OF Nick Markakis, Braves—1.83 million
OF Matt Kemp, Dodgers—1.5 million
OF Bryce Harper, Nationals—1.4 million
