Toronto Blue Jaysthird baseman Kazuma Okamoto is finding his stride in the big leagues. The Japanese slugger signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the organization this past offseason, looking to make a clean transition after dominating the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
After a slow start, he has fully found himself. In June, he has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, posting a .286 batting average, .353 on-base percentage, .913 OPS, seven home runs and 20 RBIs.
Despite his best efforts, the Blue Jays have been underwhelming. Entering Tuesday, they sit at 40-45, 10 full games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.
Jaiden Tripi-Imagn Images
Okamoto is out of the lineup for Toronto's game against the New York Mets, getting a scheduled day off as he celebrates his 30th birthday. Unfortunately, he also received a disappointing update regarding his path to starting the All-Star Game at third base for the American League.
Okamoto advanced through Phase 1 of All-Star Game voting, receiving more votes than any other third baseman. Those votes do not carry over to Phase 2, however, and in the head-to-head matchup he is currently trailing Junior Caminero of the Rays, who holds a sizable lead.
MLB released the latest ballot update, showing Okamoto has received just 33% of the vote.
While Caminero may have the better numbers this season, it is still a disappointing development for Okamoto to see his standing drop off so significantly heading into the final stretch of voting. Blue Jays fans will still have the opportunity to support Okamoto until voting officially closes at 12:00 PM EST Thursday.
