Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman advances to next phase in MLB’s All-Star voting, with chance to start for AL – The Denver Post

The first phase of All-Star fan voting ended Thursday, and Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman is one step closer to potentially starting the Midsummer Classic for the American League.

Rutschman led all AL catchers with almost 1.3 million votes, ahead of his fellow finalist, Texas’ Jonah Heim, by more than 300,000 votes. The two backstops now move on to the second phase of voting, during which fans will determine who will start July 11 at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.

Although Rutschman led Heim by a significant margin, the vote totals from the first phase don’t carry over to the second. Voting will restart at noon Monday and end at noon Thursday, with fans allowed to vote once per 24-hour period.

Rutschman, 25, is slashing .272/.382/.425 — good for an .808 OPS — with 10 home runs, 32 RBIs and an AL-leading 49 walks. Heim, 27, has the same number of home runs as Rutschman (10) with 22 more RBIs as part of the Rangers’ MLB-best offense. Heim’s .792 OPS is slightly worse than Rutschman’s, but his 2.6 WAR ranks best among AL catchers. Heim was the Orioles’ fourth-round draft pick in 2013 and was traded to Tampa Bay for utility player Steve Pearce in 2016.

Rutschman, in his second season, and Heim, in his fourth, are both aiming for their first All-Star Game appearance. If Rutschman wins, he would be the third Orioles catcher to start an All-Star Game, joining Terry Kennedy (1987) and Gus Triandos (1958 and 1959). Matt Wieters was voted as the starter in 2014 but was unable to play because of an injury.

Rutschman was the only Orioles player to advance. Outfielder Austin Hays, who leads the AL with a .323 batting average, finished 14th among the league’s outfielders, needing to almost double his 443,247 votes to advance to the next phase. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle, second baseman Adam Frazier, shortstop Jorge Mateo, third baseman Ramón Urías, outfielder Anthony Santander and designated hitter Gunnar Henderson all finished seventh or lower at their respective positions. Center fielder Cedric Mullins, who was putting together an All-Star-worthy season before suffering a groin injury in late May, finished 18th.

The winners at each position will be revealed next Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

The rest of the All-Star rosters, including pitchers and reserves, will be determined by player voting and the Commissioner’s Office. Starter Tyler Wells and relievers Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista are the most likely Orioles pitchers to receive All-Star consideration.

Baltimore Sun reporter Nathan Ruiz contributed to this article.

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