Shea Langeliers moved one step closer to starting the 2026 MLB All-Star Game after opening a commanding lead in Phase Two of American League fan voting. The Athletics catcher has received 66 percent of the vote compared to Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk's 34 percent in the first update of the final round.
Phase Two voting opened Monday and runs through noon ET Thursday, with the starting lineups scheduled to be announced shortly afterward. Langeliers advanced after finishing first among American League catchers in Phase One, while Kirk secured the second finalist spot.
Langeliers, 28, has been with the Athletics since arriving as part of the Matt Olson trade from the Atlanta Braves before the 2022 season. The ninth overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Baylor has developed into one of the club's cornerstone players and one of the American League's top offensive catchers.
Through 76 games this season, Langeliers is batting .268 with an .834 OPS, 19 home runs, and 43 RBIs. MLB highlighted his advantage over Kirk in its first Phase Two voting update, showing the Athletics catcher in a strong position to earn his first career All-Star start.
Langeliers is building on the best season of his career in 2025, when he hit .277 with 31 home runs, 72 RBIs, and an .861 OPS across 123 games. Since last year's All-Star break, he has hit 24 home runs, second only to Kyle Schwarber during that span, while batting .390 with an .810 slugging percentage on pitches inside the strike zone.
Kirk advanced to Phase Two despite missing significant time this season with a fractured left thumb, setting up the final vote against Langeliers. The Blue Jays catcher has appeared in just 17 games, making Langeliers the favorite to claim the American League's starting catcher spot.
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If Langeliers maintains his lead through Thursday, he would become the first Athletics catcher to start the All-Star Game since Terry Steinbach in 1989, ending a 37-year drought at the position. The Athletics entered Tuesday at 40-45, and Langeliers has remained one of the club's most consistent offensive contributors alongside Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker.
A starting assignment at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 14 would mark the first All-Star selection of Langeliers' career and another milestone in his emergence as one of baseball's top catchers. Phase Two voting closes Thursday, with the official starting lineups to be announced shortly afterward.
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