A’s Shea Langeliers earns 2 million All-Star votes. Will he start at catcher?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Shea Langeliers received 2,077,756 votes in Phase 1 and advanced to Phase 2.
- Phase 2 voting opens next Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific and closes July 2 at 9 a.m. Pacific.
- Langeliers leads AL catchers in runs, hits, doubles and home runs this season.
Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers earned more than 2 million votes in the first round of All-Star voting, the most for an American League catcher, allowing him to cruise into the head-to-head Phase 2, MLB announced Thursday afternoon.
Langeliers was the lone A’s position player to advance to the second round of voting after star sophomore first baseman Nick Kurtz fell short of the top two at his position.
Because no San Francisco Giants players advanced to Phase 2, Langeliers will also be the only Northern California representative on the next fan ballot.
Voting for Phase 2, which will decide the All-Star starters at each position, opens next Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific and closes next Thursday, July 2, at 9 a.m. Pacific. Fans can vote on MLB.com/vote once the ballot goes live.
The rest of the A’s and Giants players will have to wait for a combination of a player’s ballot and Commissioner’s Office selections that decide the backups, reserves and pitchers to see whether they will make the game. The Giants, by rule, are required to have at least one player make the game — a rule that would also apply to the A’s if Langeliers loses in Phase 2.
Kurtz and Giants second baseman Luis Arraez appear to be the most likely position players to make it through the reserve process after both were in contention for the fan-selected spot, while A’s starter J.T. Ginn (3.16 earned run average) and the Giants’ Rocklin-native ace Logan Webb (3.35 ERA) are also realistic candidates.
How likely is Langeliers to start?
Langeliers received a total of 2,077,756 votes in Phase 1, outlasting Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk and his team’s massive voting bloc. Despite appearing in just 13 games this season due to injury and having a negative wins above replacement value, per Baseball Reference, Kirk received 1,488,788 votes and second place among AL catchers.
The gap between the two closed marginally in the days since the second voting update released Monday, but Langeliers still finished with a comfortable lead.
The Toronto fan base, which landed a finalist at every position and two outfielders, is Langeliers’ only true obstacle left to overcome en route to a starting job at the All-Star Game.
Notably, Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement earned the most votes in the AL with 3,232,932 and an automatic starting spot just over three years after the A’s released the 30-year-old infielder. Though Clement is having a solid season with a .750 on-base percentage and 20 doubles, it was a shock for many to see him lead the AL — and only trail a four-time MVP in Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who advances as the National League’s automatic starter — in total votes received.
If Langeliers beats Kirk in Phase 2, he would be the first A’s catcher to start an All-Star Game since Terry Steinbach in 1989 and the second Athletics position player to earn a fan-elected starting spot in the last two seasons, after none received the honor from 2015 to 2024. It would also be 28-year-old Langeliers’ first All-Star appearance.
“It’s something you always dream about as a kid to get to play in the All-Star game,” Langeliers told The Sacramento Bee last week. “It’s kind of full circle, all the work you put in your whole career, leading you to this point. It’s really cool.”
In about 300 at-bats across 72 games this season, Langeliers is slashing .265/.331/.510, with a .834 OPS, the second-best among AL catchers. Langeliers also leads all AL catchers in runs (49), hits (80), doubles (16) and home runs (19).
Though Langeliers has struggled in his last 30 games, hitting .168 with a .625 OPS, his hitting stats are still among the best for an AL catcher and much better than Kirk’s .548 OPS this season.
