LOS ANGELES – A.J. Pierzynski was fourth among National League catchers in the first All-Star fan voting update announced Wednesday, the only Braves player among the early voting leaders at any position.
Pierzynski, 38, was a two-time former American League All-Star with the Twins in 2002 and White Sox in 2006. He received 347,094 votes, only 235 fewer than third-place vote-getter Miguel Montero of the Cubs but well behind the two leaders, the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina (859,520) and the Giants’ Buster Posey (759,187).
Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper, who leads the majors with 17 home runs and 42 RBIs, has the overall lead in NL All-Star votes with 1,116,582.
Braves two-time All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman wasn’t among the top five vote-getters at his position, a deep group led by the Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez with 929,016 votes, nearly double the totals of second-place Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs and third-place Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks. The Cardinals’ Matt Adams and Reds’ Joey Votto rounded out the top five first basemen.
Two Braves traded last winter, Jason Heyward and Justin Upton, were seventh and ninth, respectively, among the NL outfield vote-getters. The top five were announced at catcher and each infield position, while the top 15 outfielders were announced regardless of specific position.
There will be five more voting updates, the last on June 30, before the July 14 All-Star Game in Cincinnati. Fans vote for the All-Star starting position players, while most reserves and pitchers are selected by All-Star managers.
Pierzynski signed a free-agent deal with the Braves last winter to serve as a backup and mentor to rookie catcher Christian Bethancourt, but the veteran’s performance in spring training and early April, coupled with Bethancourt’s struggles, led to Pierzynski getting more playing time than the prospect in the first quarter of the season.
Pierzynski has cooled significantly in May, but still had a .281 average with three homers, 17 RBIs and a .758 OPS in 25 games before Wednesday. That would be his highest OPS since 2012, when he hit a career-high 27 homers with an .827 OPS and won an AL Silver Slugger award with the White Sox.
