Perez, Royals dominate 1st All-Star voting ballot

The defending champion Kansas City Royals are once again riding the coattails of their enthusiastic fan base.

Injured Royals catcher Salvador Perez, who remains sidelined after bruising his knee during a collision Saturday, paced all American League players with 1,094,942 votes in the first official ballot update released Tuesday for the July 12 All-Star Game in San Diego.

First baseman Eric Hosmer and outfielder Lorenzo Cain are also in early position to represent the Royals, who have four other players - including third baseman Mike Moustakas - within one spot of a starting position for the Midsummer Classic. Moustakas is more than 150,000 votes ahead of reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson, despite being diagnosed last week with a season-ending ACL tear.

The AL-leading Boston Red Sox are also well-represented through the first ballot, with shortstop Xander Bogaerts and designated hitter David Ortiz leading their respective positions. Bogaerts, the AL batting leader with a .354 average, has a slim lead on Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar, who sports a sub-.300 OBP and .612 OPS.

The Royals-heavy ballot is reminiscent of last year's All-Star voting controversy that at one point had as many as eight Kansas City players in position to start the game. Last summer, the league said more than 60 million votes had been canceled, though the reasons for which were not disclosed. The Royals eventually sent four starters to the game.