All-Star Voting: Herrera dips in second update

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

There's still more than two weeks left in MLB All-Star fan voting, but you can all-but close the book on any Philadelphia Phillies position players making the mid-summer classic. 

In last week's first All-Star Game voting update, Odubel Herrera checked in at No. 9 among National League outfielders. Major league baseball released their second voting update Monday, and Herrera has fallen three spots: 

Three-way race at catcher between @BusterPosey, @WContreras40 and Kurt Suzuki highlights latest National League balloting update. Visit https://t.co/Jd6REEkFYI to vote. #MLBVote pic.twitter.com/yClzTVtFqd

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 18, 2018

Hitting .361 as recently as May 17, Herrera saw his batting average drop to as low as .283 over the weekend. A three-hit game Sunday allowed him to raise his batting average back to .291, but the 26-year-old is essentially out of the All-Star picture. 

The All-Star Game pitching staff isn't voted on by fans. That figures to produce what appears increasingly likely to be the Phillies lone All-Star representative. 

Despite failing to last five innings Sunday, Aaron Nola still remains very likely to be selected by Dave Roberts' National League coaching staff. Nola is 8-2 with a 2.55 ERA, good for the sixth lowest ERA among qualified National League starters. His 2.7 fWAR trails just Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom from the lead among National League starting pitchers. The same goes for Nola's 2.82 FIP. 

While Nola is likely to become the first Phillies starting pitcher to make the All-Star team since Cliff Lee in 2013, he seems increasingly less likely to be joined by one of his rotation mates.

Despite a 3.10 FIP, which is tied for sixth in the National League, Nick Pivetta's 4.25 ERA has likely pushed him out of the All-Star Game discussion, if he was ever seriously in it. While many of his advanced statistics suggest he's been one of the better starters in the National League – his 1.8 fWAR is eighth among National League starters – his relatively high ERA and 4-6 record are unlikely to lead to a trip to Washington D.C. in mid-July. 

Jake Arrieta's 0.90 ERA in five starts in May propelled him into the discussion, but he's followed that up with an 0-3 record and 7.98 ERA in three starts in June. Arrieta, who is 5-5 with a 3.33 ERA and 3.75 FIP, has certainly been a welcome addition to the Phillies rotation, but in a rotation that appears to be a lock to have one All-Star, his case has become a long-shot. 

Reliever Seranthony Dominguez, who has a 1.26 FIP and 1.0 fWAR in 17 appearances, could also draw consideration. 

MLB All-Star voting runs through 11:59 p.m. ET on July 5.