Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr., Angels Shohei Ohtani elected All-Star starters - ESPN

Ronald Acuna Jr. is a frontrunner for National League MVP and after leading all players in total votes in the first phase of All-Star voting, he'll be headed to his fourth All-Star Game as a starting outfielder — and there's a good chance he'll be joined by some of his Atlanta Braves teammates in the starting lineup.

The first phase of voting narrows each position to two finalists, with the recipient with the most votes in each league rewarded as the automatic starter at his position. Acuna tallied 3,082,600 votes to lead all players while Shohei Ohtani led all American League players with 2,646,307 votes and will start at designated hitter for the third consecutive season.

The Braves, owners of the best record in the NL, lead all teams with seven finalists, including Acuna. Catcher Sean Murphy and shortstop Orlando Arcia led their positions in voting while first baseman Matt Olson, second baseman Ozzie Albies, third baseman Austin Riley and outfielder Michael Harris II also move on to the second phase of voting.

The Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays both have five finalists in the AL. The second phase to determine the remaining 16 positional starters for the July 11 contest in Seattle will run from noon ET on Monday through noon ET on Thursday, June 29. Vote totals from the first phase do not carry over and fans will be allowed to vote just once per 24-hour period.

Acuna, fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered in 2021 that also affected him last season, is hitting .327/.403/.558 with 15 home runs, 46 RBIs and 31 stolen bases, leading the NL in runs, steals and total bases.

Ohtani has been on an offensive tear of late, is hitting .292 and leads the majors with 24 home runs and a .993 OPS. Oh, and he's 6-3