Dodgers News: Gonzalez, Kershaw and Jansen Carry All-Star Hopes | VIDEO

Trip Westmoreland06/09/2016

8 2 minutes read

The annual Midsummer Classic, otherwise known as the MLB All-Star Game, is a little more than a month away and the first two updates to the NL and AL ballots have been released.

Unfortunately for Los Angeles Dodgers fans, as far as position players go, there aren’t many familiar faces to be found on the ballot right now.

Here is a look at the latest NL balloting updates for the 2016 MLB All-Star Game presented by MasterCard. pic.twitter.com/oA5gjMCJss

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 8, 2016

Dodger Rumors have first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is the only Dodgers player currently on the ballot. With the way the league handles voting, fans pick the eight starting position players.

Dodger fans haven’t quite casted their votes the same way as say, Chicago Cubs die-hards have. In the recent results, five of the eight starting spots belong to Cubbies and outfielders Jason Heyward and Jorge Soler are lurking as well. Fans can vote up to 5 times a day until June 30th MLB.com/Vote.

The rest of the roster is filled out by managers, coaches and players, which gives Clayton Kershaw a good opportunity to be well on his way to his 6th consecutive All-Star game. Closer Kenley Jansen has also done more than enough to earn a roster spot in what would be his first All-Star appearance. Pitcher Kenta Maeda may have something to say about being included as well.

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This is how the AL roster shapes up as of Thursday, with Kansas City Royals fans showing the same fervor as their Cubs counterparts.

Boston OF Jackie Bradley Jr. has joined the AL leaders in the latest balloting update for the 87th Midsummer Classic pic.twitter.com/nrlEN7Cigc

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 7, 2016

The game itself takes place on Tuesday July 12th at Petco Park, the home of the Dodgers NL West rivals San Diego Padres. The annual Home Run Derby takes place the day before, and this event is always a fan favorite and attracts many eyes towards it.

Dodgers fans will definitely remember Joc Pederson’s impressive 2nd place finish in the 2015 derby. In latest Dodger News, Joc fell just short to hometown hero Todd Frazier, currently of the Chicago White Sox and formerly of the Cincinnati Reds.

The actual game itself holds much more significance than similar events in the NFL or NBA:

The winner of the MLB All-Star game gains home field advantage for the World Series.

Seven out of the last ten years, the same league who has won the All-Star Game has gone on to win the World Series as well, so the stakes are very high and very real.

Over the next 3 weeks, Dodgers fans will hopefully be voting as much as possible so that the team can have more of presence on the roster than it currently does. Last season, five Dodgers represented the National League, and while it looks unlikely that they will hit that number again, there is still plenty of time to vote.

Again, you can vote for all your favorite Dodgers players on MLB.com/Vote. You can vote up five times a day, maximum 35 times and voting closes June 30th.

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