Guardians' José Ramírez leads AL All-Star voting at 3B

• José Ramírez led AL third basemen by a wide margin as of Monday, while Steven Kwan ranked fifth among outfielders.

How it works: The first phase of voting runs through Thursday with the top two vote-getters at each position (and six outfielders) in each league then engaging in a vote-off to determine the starters.

The intrigue: Ramírez seems like a shoo-in, while Kwan may have to wait for reserves to be chosen by a combination of player voting and the commissioner's office.

• Cleveland's pitching staff has struggled and has little hope of producing an All-Star.

Flashback: The Guardians had five players in last year's game — pitcher Emmanuel Clase, starters Ramírez and Kwan, and reserves Josh Naylor (who was later traded) and David Fry.

• Cleveland also had the best record in the AL during last year's All-Star break, but this year is struggling to keep up with the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

What's next: The starters for the All-Star game will be announced July 2, with the reserves announced July 6.

• This year's game takes place July 15 in Atlanta.