Entering the final hours of the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, it seems increasingly likely that Major League Baseball's tradition of surprising late-surge selections will continue as fans decide the starting position players for the 87th All-Star Game presented by MasterCard on July 12 in San Diego.

In the National League, there is now a virtual dead heat at catcher between to-date leader Yadier Molina of the Cardinals and surging Buster Posey of the Giants, while the Cubs' seemingly once-certain bounty of having five starters at Petco Park might be reduced to as few as two if leads keep disintegrating at this rate for infielders Ben Zobrist, Kris Bryant and Addison Russell.

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In the American League, two-time All-Star Game MVP Mike Trout of the Angels is the only one seemingly assured of a starting spot in the outfield. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts of the Red Sox are still following him, respectively, in position for the other two spots, but the race is on. Betts is closing on his teammate, and only 208,503 votes separate Betts from No. 4 Lorenzo Cain of the Royals, No. 5 Mark Trumbo of the Orioles and No. 6 Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays.

Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday. Fans can submit up to five ballots per any 24-hour period, with a maximum of 35 ballots per account, exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 clubs sites using the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot.

Molina, bidding for his eighth consecutive All-Star selection, led in every weekly NL voting update for the past month. But Posey outvoted him since the last one, 433,716-363,433, so the previous lead that hovered around 70,000 is now down to just 5,130. The Nationals' Wilson Ramos, who made a big surge in the last update, outdrew Molina for the second week in a row, this time 383,224-363,433, and is very much in the picture given the massive voting volume.

The Cubs have dominated at all four infielder spots throughout the past month of updates, but at this moment, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, still holding a narrow lead over Trout in the race for top overall vote-getter, is the only sure thing. The other three have leads in the 300,000s, but that is a big dropoff over the past several days.

At third base, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies has outgained Bryant since Wednesday, 564,988-388,966.

At shortstop, Trevor Story of the Rockies outgained Russell, 313,545-251,184. Meanwhile, Dodgers rookie Corey Seager received more support than either of them -- 379,204 votes -- to make a late bid.

And at second base, few Major Leaguers have had a better time lately than Daniel Murphy of the Nationals. He received a whopping 594,028 votes since Wednesday's update -- compared to 417,730 for Zobrist. That reduced Zobrist's lead to 306,934, the smallest among those three Cubs.

Miguel Cabrera, Josh Donaldson and Nelson Cruz all made late-surge starts last year. Pablo Sandoval, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera did it in 2012. So did Alex Avila and Jose Reyes in 2011. There was Josh Hamilton in 2010, Dustin Pedroia in 2009, Barry Bonds in 2007, Mark Teixeira and David Eckstein in 2005. In 2004, Hideki Matsui surged past fellow countryman Ichiro Suzuki to start for the American League. There were others as well, going back to Cal Ripken Jr. in 2001 -- enough evidence to know that some big leads are not safe.

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Fans may also receive the ballot by texting VOTE to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada). Or text VOTA for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five messages. No purchase required. Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for info.

Rosters for American and National Leagues will be revealed at 7 p.m. ET on July 5 during the one-hour Esurance All-Star Selection Show on ESPN.

Following that announcement, be sure to return to MLB.com and cast your 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. On Tuesday, July 12, watch the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.

The 87th All-Star Game, in San Diego, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.

AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING LEADERS

CATCHER



Salvador Perez, Royals: 3,754,594

Matt Wieters, Orioles: 1,033,217

Russell Martin, Blue Jays: 981,618

Brian McCann, Yankees: 578,013

Robinson Chirinos, Rangers: 511,308

FIRST BASE

Eric Hosmer, Royals: 2,638,022

Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: 2,088,920

Chris Davis, Orioles: 952,053

Justin Smoak, Blue Jays: 772,948

Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox: 769,385

SECOND BASE

Jose Altuve, Astros: 2,186,949

Robinson Cano, Mariners: 1,276,010

Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 1,081,667

Omar Infante, Royals: 949,308

Ryan Goins, Blue Jays: 757,923

THIRD BASE

Manny Machado, Orioles: 2,196,732

Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays: 1,590,183

Mike Moustakas, Royals: 1,135,431

Adrian Beltre, Rangers: 1,099,086

Nick Castellanos, Tigers: 789,144

SHORTSTOP

Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox: 2,825,025

Alcides Escobar, Royals: 1,478,645

Troy Tulowitzki, Blue Jays: 1,136,479

Elvis Andrus, Rangers: 917,112

Carlos Correa, Astros: 694,103

OUTFIELD

Mike Trout, Angels: 2,972,582

Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox: 2,184,884

Mookie Betts, Red Sox: 1,915,637

Lorenzo Cain, Royals: 1,821,746

Mark Trumbo, Orioles: 1,801,969

Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: 1,707,134

Alex Gordon, Royals: 1,165,980

Ian Desmond, Rangers: 1,133,422

Paulo Orlando, Royals: 1,065,647

Carlos Beltran, Yankees: 964,473

Kevin Pillar, Blue Jays: 934,982

Michael Saunders, Blue Jays: 903,050

Adam Jones, Orioles: 726,916

Melky Cabrera, White Sox: 518,476

J.D. Martinez, Tigers: 497,102

DESIGNATED HITTER

David Ortiz, Red Sox: 3,400,200

Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays: 1,131,827

Kendrys Morales, Royals: 1,102,349

Victor Martinez, Tigers: 865,194

Nelson Cruz, Mariners: 799,967

NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING LEADERS

CATCHER

Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 1,568,930

Buster Posey, Giants: 1,563,800

Wilson Ramos, Nationals: 1,282,287

Miguel Montero, Cubs: 854,629

Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers: 846,380

FIRST BASE

Anthony Rizzo, Cubs: 2,630,049

Brandon Belt, Giants: 1,233,499

Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs: 977,889

Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers: 734,448

Brandon Moss, Cardinals: 522,808

SECOND BASE

Ben Zobrist, Cubs: 2,474,852

Daniel Murphy, Nationals: 2,167,918

Joe Panik, Giants: 768,312

Neil Walker, Mets: 500,384

Chase Utley, Dodgers: 488,170

THIRD BASE

Kris Bryant, Cubs: 2,459,704

Nolan Arenado, Rockies: 2,108,503

Matt Carpenter, Cardinals: 882,135

Matt Duffy, Giants: 665,802

Martin Prado, Marlins: 396,859

SHORTSTOP

Addison Russell, Cubs: 1,741,182

Trevor Story, Rockies: 1,423,547

Corey Seager, Dodgers: 1,082,434

Brandon Crawford, Giants: 1,002,201

Zack Cozart, Reds: 528,785

OUTFIELD

Dexter Fowler, Cubs: 2,320,877

Bryce Harper, Nationals: 2,253,083

Yoenis Cespedes, Mets: 2,249,489

Jason Heyward, Cubs: 1,485,679

Ryan Braun, Brewers: 1,327,209

Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies: 1,155,982

Jorge Soler, Cubs: 992,174

Starling Marte, Pirates: 893,952

Andrew McCutchen, Pirates: 816,079

Stephen Piscotty, Cardinals: 793,912

Hunter Pence, Giants: 764,004

Matt Holliday, Cardinals: 680,416

Charlie Blackmon, Rockies: 644,191

Marcell Ozuna, Marlins: 578,015

Angel Pagan, Giants: 561,677