by Dayn Perry

Updated: June 30, 2008, 12:38 PM EST 199 comments

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The voting is of course ongoing, and the American League and National League starting lineups are taking shape. So at this juncture, let's take a look at those lineups in progress and see how the democratic process is working. We'll examine what the voters are getting right, what they're getting wrong, and which races are still too close to call. Let's start with the junior circuit ...

AL: Top vote-getters

C — Joe Mauer, Twins

Until recently, Boston's Jason Varitek was the leader at the catcher position. He didn't deserve it. Mauer does. The voting is still close (Mauer leads by just 145,000 votes), but it really shouldn't be.

1B — Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox

Youkilis has a healthy lead over Justin Morneau. While you can make a strong case for Jason Giambi, Youkilis is a perfectly reasonable choice here.

2B — Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox

Brian Roberts and Ian Kinsler are both more deserving that Pedroia, but Sox fans are voting in droves and in this instance, with little regard for the merits. Pedroia leads Kinsler by 184,000 votes, so it's not over yet.

3B — Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

No debate here. Rodriguez at the moment is the AL's top vote-getter, and he's worthy of it.

SS — Derek Jeter, Yankees

It's just not a good year for AL shortstops. Michael Young's having a better season than Jeter, but there's no disputing Jeter's star power. All things considered, Jeter deserves the nod, but that's really a comment upon the AL's weakness at the position.

OF — Manny Ramirez, Red Sox

OF — Josh Hamilton, Rangers

OF — Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners

Ramirez and Hamilton are both sensible choices, and Ichiro, while he's having a down year, remains one of the game's most visible stars. Still, you can argue that Grady Sizemore, B.J. Upton, J.D. Drew and Jermaine Dye were all more deserving than Ichiro. Speaking of Drew, he's presently sixth in the voting among AL outfielders, but he trails Ichiro for the final spot by more than 250,000 votes. Vlad Guerrero is in fourth place, but he's neither particularly close to Ichiro nor deserving of a starting job.

All in all, though, a solid job by AL voters. You can quibble with their choices in the outfield and at second base, but it's still a strong squad.

NL: Top vote-getters

C — Geovany Soto, Cubs

Soto's having a fine year, but Brian McCann and Russell Martin would've been better choices. In fact, McCann pretty clearly deserves it. He's second in the balloting, but he trails Soto by more than half a million votes. Soto's almost certainly going as a starter, but he's not the best option for the NL.

A no-brainer: Jones is a future Hall of Famer, and he's having an exceptional season. (Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)

1B — Lance Berkman, Astros

Berkman's having a great season, but Albert Pujols is the bigger star and the better player. It's also a joke that Pujols is a mere third in the voting (Derrek Lee has the second-most votes among NL first basemen). Berkman's a fine choice, just not the best one.

2B — Chase Utley, Phillies

Utley's the only National Leaguer to have more than two million votes. Some object to the fact that Dan Uggla, the major-league leader in home runs, isn't leading the balloting. However, Utley's producing exceptionally well, and he's a much better defender than Uggla. Uggla, of course, deserves to be on the roster, but Utley is a worthy starter.

3B — Chipper Jones, Braves

An easy choice here. Jones is a future Hall of Famer, and he's having an exceptional season. Aramis Ramirez trails him by more than 800,000 votes, and that's as it should be.

SS — Hanley Ramirez, Marlins

In terms of who deserves it, consider it a coin-flip between Ramirez and Jose Reyes of the Mets. Ramirez gives you more at the plate, while Reyes is the better defender. The race, however, is a tight one between Ramirez and Houston's Miguel Tejada. Ramirez is far and away the better choice, so here's hoping he clings to his slim lead.

OF — Alfonso Soriano, Cubs

OF — Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs

OF — Ken Griffey Jr., Reds

The first problem is that the NL has no natural center fielder. The second problem is that Griffey Jr. in no way, shape, or form deserves to be an All-Star. He's a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, but his skills have greatly diminished. This season, he's hitting just .235 AVG/.346 OBP/.388 SLG despite playing his home games in a great hitter's park. Ryan Braun is closing on Junior (he trails him by fewer than 200,000 votes), and he's much more worthy of a starting spot than Griffey. Ditto for Pat Burrell, Matt Holliday, Ryan Ludwick, Brian Giles, Carlos Beltran, Nate McLouth and Aaron Rowand. None of those guys, however, has any real shot of winning a starting job.

This isn't to pick on Junior; in fact, none of the current starting NL outfielders merits his status. There are a lot of better choices out there, but NL voters thus far are ignoring them. The idea is to win the game (it counts, you know), but it's hard to see how running Soriano, Fukudome, and Griffey out there helps them do that.

In the main, NL fans are doing a worse job than the AL voters. They've botched the outfield vote quite badly, and they're also off the mark at catcher. It's the outfield vote, however, that's really going to hurt the NL in the early innings.