Baseball's top prospect has Tacoma on his mind.White Sox second baseman Yoán Moncada is among the leading vote-getters on the Esurance Triple-A All-Star ballot after two weeks of voting, joining other big names like Jorge Alfaro, Derek Fisher and Franklin Barreto.
Baseball's top prospect has Tacoma on his mind.
White Sox second baseman Yoán Moncada is among the leading vote-getters on the Esurance Triple-A All-Star ballot after two weeks of voting, joining other big names like Jorge Alfaro, Derek Fisher and Franklin Barreto.
Charlotte's Moncada has the edge so far over Buffalo's Jake Elmore on the International League ballot as fans continue to help choose All-Stars for the July 12 event in Tacoma, Washington. The 22-year-old Moncada, batting .287 with six homers and 18 RBIs, is also fending off Braves top prospect Ozzie Albies, who's hitting .262 with three homers and 18 RBIs for Gwinnett.
Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins has nearly double the number of votes as Buffalo's Rowdy Tellez at the race for first base in the IL, while his Lehigh Valley teammate, Tom Eshelman has received the most votes among all IL players on the ballot.
Other current leaders for the IL include Buffalo's Jason Leblebijian at third, Indianapolis' Max Moroff at shortstop, Lehigh Valey's Alfaro behind the plate and Buffalo's Christian Lopes at designated hitter.
The Bisons trend continued in the outfield with two of the three leaders coming from upstate New York. Buffalo's Roemon Fields and Dwight Smith Jr. join Indianapolis' Christopher Bostick in the top three starting positions so far, but Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Dustin Fowler and another Bison, Ian Parmley, are very close behind.
Pedro Beato of Lehigh Valley and Murphy Smith of Buffalo have the most votes among IL relievers, while Durham's Jacob Faria and Lehigh Valley's Ben Lively -- who are both currently in the Majors -- trail Eshelman among starters.
Vote now for the 2017 Triple-A All-Star Game on July 12 in Tacoma
Fisher and Barreto are among the top-ranked prospects leading on the PCL side. Barreto, batting .278 with seven homers and 31 RBIs for Nashville, leads all PCL shortstops in votes, while Fisher, an Astros prospect, is batting .335 with 15 homers and 40 RBIs as a leader among outfielders.
Iowa catcher Victor Caratini has received the most votes among all PCL players and trails only Eshelman on the overall ballot. The Cubs backstop is hitting .335 with five homers and 39 RBIs.
Colorado Springs' Garrett Cooper leads New Orleans' Matt Juengel at first base by fewer than 1,000 votes, while the Baby Cakes' Steve Lombardozzi has a healthy lead over Oklahoma City's Willie Calhoun at second. Sacramento's Jae-Gyun Hwang and Colorado Springs' Iván De Jesús Jr. are atop the PCL ballot at third base.
Reno's Oswaldo Arcia has the edge so far at designated hitter, while Barreto has a strong lead over Mets top prospect Amed Rosario of Las Vegas at short.
Fisher, Colorado Springs' Brett Phillips and Las Vegas' Brandon Nimmo currently own the top three spots among outfielders. Phillips was promoted to Milwaukee earlier this week, which could open up a spot for contenders like New Orleans' Brandon Barnes or Tacoma's Boog Powell.
Albuquerque's Jeff Hoffman and New Orleans' Scott Copeland have the most votes among PCL starting pitchers, while the Cakes' Drew Steckenrider and Memphis' Sam Tuivailala are fighting for the top relief spot.
Fan voting continues until June 23 ahead of the annual event. Field managers and the media also contribute votes to help determine final rosters.
