Butler, Francoeur & four other Royals rank in top five in MLB All-Star race

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The MLB All-Star game is less than a month away from coming to Kauffman Stadium.

Royals fans are hoping their team lands more than one member in the big game. Chris Getz, Jeff Francoeur, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar and Billy Butler are among the leaders in All-Star balloting. MLB released the first All-Star ballot update on Tuesday.

Getz is fifth in voting among second basemen. Francouer is 10th and Gordon is 13th for outfielders. Moustakas is fifth in the third base category. Escobar is sitting in fourth place among shortstops. Butler stands in fourth place among designated hitters.

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp are MLB’s top overall vote-getters. Hamilton has received 2,587,991 votes, while Kemp has earned 1,952,910 votes.

Former Royal and current St. Louis Cardinal Carlos Beltran is second in voting for National League outfielders. The six-time All-Star leads the N.L. with 15 home runs. Former Missouri Tiger Ian Kinsler leads second basemen in All-Star voting. Kinsler is a two-time All-Star for the Texas Rangers.

A record-shattering 32.5 million ballots were cast last season. The in-stadium phase of balloting ends on Friday, June 22. Fans can vote online at mlb.com , the 30 Club websites and their mobile devices until Thursday, June 28 at 10:59 p.m.

The American League and National League All-Star rosters will be unveiled on Sunday, July 1. Then, fans can start voting for the final player for each League’s 34-man roster on the MLB website.

The 83rd MLB All-Star game will be played July 10. This was the first All-Star balloting update. Weekly updates will be announced each Monday and Tuesday throughout June.