Bryant, Gallo in All-Star mix; Harper needs some help

Major League Baseball this week released its first All-Star Game vote totals.

Two players with Las Vegas roots — Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo — are poised to advance to the next round.

Perennial All-Star Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies is on the outside looking in.

MLB revamped its voting procedures this year, implementing the Primary Round and Starters Election. The top three vote-getters at each position per league (and top nine in the outfield) as of 1 p.m. June 21 will advance.

Bryant, a Bonanza High product, is in second place among the National League third basemen with 404,855 votes, behind the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado (783,684). A two-time All-Star, Bryant is hitting .270 with 13 home runs and 36 RBIs.

Gallo, a Bishop Gorman graduate, is in eighth place with 281,179 votes, nearly 80,000 ahead of the Twins’ Max Kepler. He is leading the AL in slugging percentage (.653), with 17 homers, 41 RBIs and a career-high .276 average. Gallo’s tape-measure rockets have dominated sports highlight reels, but he’s been sidelined since June 2 with a left oblique strain.

Harper (Las Vegas High, College of Southern Nevada), who signed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies after seven seasons with Washington, is 10th in the voting with 242,719 votes, trailing Alex Verdugo of the Los Angeles Dodgers by 269 votes.

Harper, who made six All-Star Games with the Nationals, is hitting .251 with 11 homers and 45 RBIs but also leading the NL in strikeouts (85).

New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso (51s) is fifth in the NL voting for first baseman (157,347). The last player to homer in Cashman Field history is hitting .257 with 21 homers and 46 RBIs, but he might need some help to catch the Braves’ Freddie Freeman (406,283) for third place.

Despite helping the Rays going neck-and-neck with the New York Yankees for the AL East lead, outfielder Tommy Pham (Durango) is likely hampered by Tampa Bay’s miserable attendance mark. Pham, hitting .282 with 8 homers and 25 RBIs, is 15th in the AL vote (119,691).

The Starters Election will take place over a 28-hour period starting at 9 a.m. June 26, with the starters in each league announced at 4 p.m. June 27. The rest of the All-Stars will be named at 2:30 p.m. June 30.

The 90th annual contest will be held July 9 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Contact Tony Garcia at tgarcia@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307. Follow @TonyGLVNews on Twitter.