The 2012 MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City is, somehow, right around the corner. That's even more apparent when MLB released its first set of vote total on Tuesday.
That list featured three members of the Giants: Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Melky Cabrera.
None of those guys should be a surprise, but it is pleasant to see the Giants, typically pretty anemic on offense, with three reps on the leaderboard.
Melky is one of the hottest hitters on the planet, but apparently more people need to sit up and notice, because he's only fifth in the National League when it comes to votes among outfielders.
Ahead of Melky -- who's got 714,642 votes -- are Matt Kemp, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Braun and Andre Either. Either's the closest to Melky, totaling 827,262 votes.
Somehow, no, Giancarlo Stanton isn't featured, which should tell you exactly how smart All-Star voters are. If Melky doesn't make the top three in terms of outfielders, it's a shame, especially with Kemp riding the disabled list for the next month. He should end up backdooring the award and getting a pleasant little return trip to Kansas City.
Posey's a decent bet to rep the National League in KC too -- he's currently in second place in the NL in catcher votes, behind only Yadier Molina. And it's a very close vote as well, as Posey's rocking 1,072,464 votes to Molina's 1,100,048 votes. Posey's total, by the way, is good for the sixth-highest in the National League.
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If he can get hot heading to the close of voting and Giants fans show up in a big way, he should be able to close the gap on Molina.
Sandoval's a much different story: he's fourth among NL third basemen with 648,303 votes and he's dealing with some off-field issue and an uncertain return from the disabled list. He also would have to walk down David Wright, David Freese and Chipper Jones in a retirement year. His shot of repping the Giants this season is a long one.
But with Posey and Melky, the Giants could -- and maybe even should -- still end up landing an impressive pair of players in Kansas City for the midseason affair.
