Braves outfielder Justin Upton was second among all National League players in the first All-Star vote balloting released Tuesday afternoon. Upton trailed only Giants catcher and reigning NL MVP Buster Posey, who had 1,275,956 votes to Upton’s 1,184,249.
Upton leads all NL outfielders in fan voting, which determines the starters for the July 16 All-Star game at Citi Field in New York. Upton was selected to two All-Star teams as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009 and 2011, but this would be his first fan selection.
In his first season with the Braves, Upton is tied for second in the National League with 14 home runs. He leads both Bryce Harper of the Nationals (1,182,532) and Ryan Braun of the Brewers (945,665) in the National League outfield vote.
Other Braves among top vote-getters include Chris Johnson who is third in the voting among NL third basemen behind Pablo Sandoval and David Wright. Andrelton Simmons is fourth in voting among NL shortstops. Freddie Freeman (first base), Dan Uggla (second base) and Brian McCann (catcher) were all fifth in voting at their respective positions. B.J. Upton is 13th among 15 NL outfielders in the voting.
