First 2025 All-Star Game voting results spell trouble for KC Royals

All is not well with the Kansas City Royals. It hasn't been for quite some time. That electric 16-2 stretch that wrapped in early May feels like a distant memory, gone faster than a thunderstorm rolling over Tuttle Creek.

What once looked like a promising encore to 2024 now teeters on the edge, with hot seats only getting hotter after each loss. The Royals have bigger issues than their All-Star Game headcount, but the results from Phase 1 of voting feel like a microcosm of the season so far: underwhelming, frustrating, and far from what anyone expected.

MLB released the first balloting update for this year's Midsummer Classic, and Kansas City players are few and far between on the lists. Catcher Salvador Perez, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, and third baseman Maikel Garcia all crack the top ten, but none sit inside the top five at their position, and each trails the frontrunner by a wide margin. Even Bobby Witt Jr. isn't leading the pack at shortstop, sitting more than 40,000 votes behind Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson. Fitting, considering Wilson’s team just embarrassed Witt and the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

The KC Royals are sparsely represented in 2025 All-Star Game voting update.

It shouldn’t surprise any Royals fan that the team has no top-10 vote-getters at second base, designated hitter, or in the outfield. All three spots have been trouble areas in one way or another this season—and each has played a role in dragging the Royals down.

If Phase 2 of voting started now, Witt would be the only Royals representative among the finalists. The 2024 AL MVP runner-up is certainly a dazzling player in the field, but some lackluster efficiency on the basepaths and production at the plate has him looking like a shadow of the superstar fans saw shine bright last season.

The Royals' chances to gain votes are quickly dwindling, and hope that they will do something worthy of more praise is fading alongside it. News of a players-only meeting gave optimism that something would change, but a 3-2 loss clinched a second consecutive sweep, now at the hands of the last-place Athletics. The players still control their destiny on the field. But for now, it’s the fans who decide who makes it to Phase 2 of All-Star voting.

Phase 2 of All-Star voting kicks off at 11 a.m. CT on June 30, with fans picking among finalists at each position through July 2 at 11 a.m. CT. Votes reset for this round, meaning Phase 1 totals don’t carry over, and fans can vote once per day on MLB platforms. Winners will be revealed that same night at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN during the All-Star Starters Reveal Show. The top vote-getter at each spot, including three outfielders per league, will earn a starting nod for the 2025 Midsummer Classic.