CHICAGO — When the season began, the Giants’ leading vote-getter in All-Star balloting wasn’t even on their major-league roster.
With less than a month to go until the 94th Midsummer Classic, MLB released its first tally of fan voting Monday, and rookie outfielder Heliot Ramos had his name checked 241,532 times, ninth-most among National League outfielders and nearly twice as many votes as any of his teammates.
Ramos, 24, spent the first six weeks of the season at Triple-A Sacramento but has made a strong case since being called up May 8. In 35 games, Ramos has batted .326/.404/.561 with eight home runs — already tied for the team lead — accruing more Wins Above Replacement than any other outfielder in the NL.
With the top six outfielders advancing to a runoff to determine the three starters, Ramos faces an uphill battle to earn a starting nod but has the best chances of any other Giants position player. He trails the sixth-leading vote-getter, Nick Castellanos (439,764), by nearly 200,000 votes.
Only the top two players at every other position advance to the second phase, and Patrick Bailey (81,784) ranks ninth among catchers; LaMonte Wade Jr. (106,401) seventh among first basemen; Thairo Estrada (60,759) 10th among second basemen and Matt Chapman (135,704) eighth among third basemen.
The first round of voting concludes next Thursday, and the rosters for the July 16 All-Star Game will be revealed July 3 at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN.
Asked recently to make a case for the Giants’ top candidates to send to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, manager Bob Melvin named relievers Tyler Rogers and Ryan Walker, two key pieces from a bullpen that has been asked to take on a bigger workload than almost any other relief group in the majors.
“Tyler and Walk have put up fantastic numbers in holds and all the things that you would want out of guys who come in and lead up to your closer,” Melvin said. “I think those three guys (along with starter Logan Webb) are very deserving.”
Walker leads the majors with his 37 appearances while limiting opponents to a 2.45 ERA, and Rogers is one appearance behind him with a 2.38 ERA.
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The only reason Webb wasn’t named an All-Star last summer was because he started the Giants’ final game before the break, and with a 3.02 ERA through 15 starts he stands a good chance to earn his first All-Star nod if his schedule lines up better this time.
The fate of the Giants’ pitchers is in the hands of their peers and the coaching staff for the National League squad — Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo has seen no shortage of all three — who select the team’s pitching staff and bench players.
Fan voting is used to determine the nine starting position players in each league.
Alex Cobb and Camilo Doval represented the team in Seattle last summer, while Joc Pederson was the Giants’ last position player to earn a spot in the starting lineup, receiving the most votes at designated hitter for the 2022 game at Dodger Stadium.
All-Star voting leaders among National League outfielders, June 17.