St. Louis shortstop Rafael Furcal has been chasing Colorado Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki in 2012 MLB All-Star Game voting for most of the season, but he finally moved into lead for the starting spot for the National League team on Tuesday. Tulowitzki hasn't played since May 30 due to injury, so Furcal has been able to make up ground and take a 94,000 vote lead by continuing to add to his resume and remain top-of-mind with fan voters.
As for other Cardinals players, catcher Yadier Molina is currently in second-place behind San Francisco Giants C Buster Posey by roughly 54,000 votes, while Carlos Beltran is firmly entrenched as the No. 2 outfielder for the NL behind Los Angeles Dodgers OF Matt Kemp. Here is a quick summary of the latest voting numbers, via MLB.com.
| SHORTSTOP | |
|---|---|
| Rafael Furcal, Cardinals: | 1,741,360 |
| Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies: | 1,647,235 |
| Starlin Castro, Cubs: | 1,006,333 |
| CATCHER | |
|---|---|
| Buster Posey, Giants: | 2,445,005 |
| Yadier Molina, Cardinals: | 2,291,567 |
| Carlos Ruiz, Phillies: | 1,756,018 |
| OUTFIELD | |
|---|---|
| Matt Kemp, Dodgers: | 3,322,009 |
| Carlos Beltran, Cardinals: | 2,652,980 |
| Melky Cabrera, Giants: | 2,144,107 |
| Ryan Braun, Brewers: | 2,118,925 |
| Andre Ethier, Dodgers: | 1,517,218 |
| Matt Holliday, Cardinals: | 1,374,004 |
The 2012 rosters will be unveiled on the 2012 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show, which will air on TBS July 1. The eight position player starters will be determined by the fan vote in the NL, while pitchers and reserves will be determined according to Player Ballot choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers (Ron Washington and Tony La Russa), in conjunction with MLB.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, visit St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos. For more news and updates from around the MLB, drop by Baseball Nation with Rob Neyer, or dig deeper into the stats at Beyond the Box Score.