Miami Marlins: Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton among All-Star vote leaders

Major League Baseball has released its first All-Star ballot updates of the 2015 season, and a pair of Miami Marlins are featured among the leading vote-getters for the National League roster.

As of yesterday’s release, speedster Dee Gordon leads all National League second baseman by a hefty margin, and Giancarlo Stanton sits third in outfield voting, which would give him one of the three starting spots in the NL All-Star outfield. Gordon had nearly twice as many votes as the next man in his rear view mirror, St. Louis Cardinals’ second baseman Kolten Wong (which is also weird, but that’s a story for a different day.)

More from Marlins News

• Miami Marlins news: Another target gone
• Why didn’t the Miami Marlins sign JDM?
• Miami Marlins rejected Boston‘s trade offer
• Miami Marlins are pursuing Michael Conforto
• Miami Marlins need to spend to win

Stanton, who is having somewhat of a down season by his standards, still has provided oohs and ahhs with 13 home runs on the year as I write this. But he is hitting just .232/.325/.503 (.828 OPS), a far cry from his .898 career-OPS. The 25-year-old also leads the NL with 63 strikeouts. Stanton started the 2014 All-Star Game in Minnesota, going 0-for-3 with a K.

Gordon, Miami’s prized new second base acquisition, leads baseball in base hits (73), batting average (.376) and stolen bases (19). His average hovered above .400 for much of the first two months of the season. He probably won’t be hitting .376 come mid-July, but Gordon’s scorching-hot start and early landslide lead in votes could be enough to land him the start in the Midsummer Classic. He earned his first All-Star nod in 2014, but did not start the game (Chase Utley started at second, and, um, yeah, that probably won’t happen this year.)

The 2015 MLB All-Star Game won’t be played until Tuesday, July 14, and a lot will obviously change in the interim. My prediction? Gordon will cool off somewhat, but still have a .300+ average that will find him dangerously close to getting the All-Star start after all. I think Stanton will finally heat up as the mercury rises in June, and pad himself comfortably in the top three outfielders ultimately netting the slugger his second straight All-Star starting assignment.

The Marlins probably won’t be competing for any division crowns or pennants this year, but Gordon and Stanton have provided solace in what has been an incredibly forgettable first two months of the 2015 season. Even with all signs pointing toward Miami being well out of contention by mid-July, the chance for some positive publicity is still very real with the potential for two Marlins in the NL lineup for the first time in club history.

The next NL voting update is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2. Marlin Maniac will keep you up-to-date when the next ballot is released by Major League Baseball.

Follow Marlin Maniac on Twitter @MarlinManiac for all your Miami Marlins news, opinion and analysis!

Next: Morning Catch: Pirates hand Marlins sweep