Braves Country is a very real (and very large) force in Major League Baseball. They flexed their collective muscle in the preliminary round of the All-Star vote. A Major League-best six different Braves players moved on to the final round of voting, including the leading vote-getter in the National League, Ronald Acuña.
Grant McAuley and Cory McCartney marveled at the success that the Braves had, despite some struggles from a few of the finalists.
Despite missing a month as he returned from a knee injury sustained last season, Ronald Acuña is an automatic starter thanks to his 3,503,188 votes. The budding superstar will be making the third All-Star game appearance of his career.
Besides Acuña, the Braves feature Adam Duvall, Travis d'Arnaud, William Contreras, Dansby Swanson, and Ozzie Albies. Of this group, McAuley and McCartney see three favorites that emerge from this round of fan voting.
"Travis d'Arnaud and William Contreras have very good voting possibilities here," McAuley said. "Dansby Swanson, quite obviously too, he has been the Braves' MVP for this season."
These three guys have been dominant for the Braves and all three have a very good chance of landing on their first All-Star teams.
Of the other two, Ozzie Albies is on the 60-day IL due to a fractured foot he sustained in June and Adam Duvall has been struggling this season.
The Braves may not be done there, as the fan votes are only for positional starters. Pitchers and reserves will be determined via a "Player Ballot" submitted to the Commissioner's Office. Kyle Wright, Max Fried, Austin Riley, and other Braves players could be selected in this manner.
Fans will be able to vote for their selections once per day, starting today and lasting through Friday. Final announcements on the roster will be made on Sunday at 5:30 PM.
