Ohtani and Clement earn Phase 1 All-Star starting berths as voting enters next stage

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game fan voting is moving closer to the starters the public will ultimately see in Philadelphia, and Phase 1 delivered a pair of standout names for the first decision. According to MLB’s announced Phase 1 results reported Thursday, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers will start at designated hitter for the National League, and Ernie Clement of the Toronto Blue Jays will start at second base for the American League.

The Phase 1 format matters because it does not finalize the full All-Star rosters. Instead, MLB uses the first fan-vote screen to advance candidates into the next stage. The players who led in their leagues during Phase 1 received the biggest early edge, and the next round of voting will determine who joins them, with additional qualifiers coming from the positional vote categories and the outfield vote groups.

For both leagues, MLB advanced the top two vote-getters at each position into the next phase, alongside the top six outfielders in each league. That structure is designed to keep the ballot broad while still rewarding fan preference at the position level. In practice, it means the players who already sit at the top of their categories will have a head start, but the next stage can still reorder the field.

The most prominent name on the National League side is Ohtani, who will now be the early face of the Dodgers in the DH spot. His Phase 1 standing as the leading vote-getter for his league also reflects how strongly fans have continued to support the two-way star in a voting process that is often influenced by both performance and popularity.

On the American League side, Clement’s Phase 1 result is notable for the position. With Clement named the Phase 1 starter at second base, the early vote indicates Toronto’s fan base will be represented not only in the infield, but in one of the most visible roles on the diamond. For Clement, the starting designation at this point is a platform, not a guarantee of the final roster, but it secures prominence during the voting sequence.

Beyond the two starters, the Phase 1 results also moved several other high-profile players forward into the next round. CBS Sports reported that Aaron Judge advanced as a top vote-getter in his positional group, and Mike Trout also advanced as part of the players moving on from Phase 1.

As the next phase of voting unfolds, the key storyline will be whether the vote leaders hold onto their lanes or whether the second wave of fan balloting reshapes who becomes the final starting lineup and who earns additional selections. With Philadelphia as the host city for the All-Star Game, MLB’s approach also functions as a league-wide showcase, balancing headline names with position-specific results that can elevate lesser-heralded candidates. For fans and teams alike, the immediate watch is who climbs in the positional categories and the outfield groups during the coming vote window.

Whatever the final mix looks like, Phase 1 has already set the template: Ohtani’s DH starter role for the National League and Clement’s second-base starter role for the American League are the early markers of where fans have put their influence. Everything after that will be decided by the next stage of voting, with more names joining the All-Star conversation as the field narrows.