Official: Ernie Clement to Play in the All-Star Game

Voting for the All-Star Game has moved to the next level: the finalists among the position players.

At this stage, for each position, the two players who received the most votes face off in the second round of fan voting—and the vote counts are reset to zero for this round.

Among the outfielders, six players are vying for three spots.

The only exception? The player from each league who received the most votes doesn't have to compete—he's automatically a starter. In the National League, that's Shohei Ohtani.

In the American League, with more than three million votes, Ernie Clement has earned an automatic spot.

He is therefore guaranteed to start the game at second base.

We can all agree that for a guy who's been designated for assignment at some point in his career, being in this position is just crazy.

He also recently played in the World Baseball Classic and set the record for hits in a single postseason with 30.

It's worth noting that the Blue Jays, if all goes well, could have eight starters in the All-Star Game. After all, seven other players are vying for starting spots.

Will Blue Jays fans vote in droves again?

• First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vs. Ben Rice
• Shortstop: Andres Gimenez vs. Bobby Witt Jr.
• Third base: Kazuma Okamoto vs. Junior Caminero
• Catcher: Alejandro Kirk vs. Shea Langeliers
• Designated Hitter: George Springer vs. Yordan Alvarez
• Outfielders: Daulton Varsho and Jesus Sanchez vs. Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Byron Buxton, and Cody Bellinger

Fan voting continues for the starting position players. Reserves and pitchers will be selected by Major League Baseball.

Stay tuned for updates.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.