Mookie Betts, Trea Turner among early All-Star voting leaders

Major League Baseball unveiled early returns on fan voting for starters for the 2022 All-Star Game, with a pair of Dodgers in line to potentially start at Dodger Stadium. Mookie Betts and Trea Turner are the top vote-getters at their positions with nine days remaining in the first phase of voting.

Mookie Betts leads all National League players with 1,446,050 votes. The only American League player with more All-Star votes is Aaron Judge (1,512,368). A quirk of All-Star voting added this year is that players who lead their league in fan votes through the first phase of voting earn an automatic starting spot.

Phase 1 of the All-Star vote runs through Thursday, June 30 at 11 a.m. PT, with the top two at each position (and top six among outfielders) advancing to Phase 2, which will run from July 5 to July 8. Vote totals reset after Phase 1.

Betts is a five-time All-Star, including last year with the Dodgers though he chose not to play while dealing with a nagging hip injury. He’s started three times in the midsummer classic, all with Boston from 2016-18.

Trea Turner leads NL shortstops with 811,939 votes. Dansby Swanson of the Braves (599,251 votes) and Francisco Lindor of the Mets (521,489) are within shouting distance. Turner made his first All-Star team last year with the Nationals, as a reserve.

Freddie Freeman is the closest to potentially advancing to the next round of voting, but he has a tall task ahead of him. Freeman is in third place among NL first basemen with 469,197 votes, well behind Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals (930,441), with the Mets’ Pete Alonso (602,321) in between.

No other Dodger is higher than fourth in voting at their respective positions:

• Catcher: Will Smith, fifth place (323,894 votes); top two are Wilson Contreras (801,630) and Travis d’Arnaud (471,921)
• Second base: Gavin Lux, fourth (256,411); top two are Jazz Chisholm Jr. (634,762) and Ozzie Albies (589,804)
• Third base: Justin Turner, fourth (254,057); top two are Manny Machado (969,582) and Nolan Arenado (581,363)
• DH: Max Muncy, fourth (189,643); top two are Bryce Harper (1,059,433) and William Contreras (584,630)
• Outfield: Cody Bellinger ninth (301,121), Chris Taylor twelfth (249,521); sixth place (final spot to advance to Phase 2) is Adam Duvall (332,387).

The Dodgers last hosted the All-Star Game in 1980. That year the Dodgers had four starters — first baseman Steve Garvey, second baseman Davey Lopes, outfielder Reggie Smith, and shortstop Bill Russell.

This year’s midsummer classic is Tuesday, July 19 at Dodger Stadium.