PHILADELPHIA — Ronald Acuña Jr. will not be participating in Phase 2 of this year’s All-Star Selection as he has already been selected to again serve as one of the starting National League outfielders at this year’s Midsummer Classic.
Acuña received more votes than any other MLB player during Phase 1 of the voting process, which ended Thursday afternoon. This is the third year in a row that the Braves outfielder has received more votes than any other NL player. He is the only Braves, along with Hank Aaron (1970 and 1971) and Dale Murphy (1985), to ever receive the most votes in the election.
Acuña surpassed American League leader Shohei Ohtani with 3,082,600 to 2,646,307. Everyone is guaranteed a spot on the starting lineup as the top voter in their respective league.
This is the fourth time Acuña, 25, has been selected to start an All-Star game. He was one of the NL’s first outfielders in 2019 and 2022 and missed Game 21 after tearing his right cruciate ligament two days before the All-Star break.
Acuña likely won’t be the Braves’ only All-Star representative this year. Catcher Sean Murphy, shortstop Orlando Arcia, first baseman Matt Olson, second baseman Ozzie Albies, third baseman Austin Riley, and outfielder Michael Harris II all advanced to Stage 2 of the voting process. Murphy and Arcia were the top picks in their respective positions in Phase 1.
Beginning Monday at 12 p.m. ET, Phase 2 voting will be available exclusively online and via mobile devices at MLB.com/vote, all 30 club websites, the MLB app and the MLB Ballpark app. It gives fans the opportunity to vote on the finalists in each position during a short time window ending June 29th at 12pm ET. Winners will be announced tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Fans can vote once per day during this second phase, with daily voting limits resetting at midnight ET each day.
During Phase 2, the total vote counts are reset (i.e. the total vote counts from Phase 1 are not carried over) and the winner at each position (including three outfielders in the AL and two remaining outfielders in the NL) is named the starting position player of the 2023 Midsummer Classic.