The Opener: All-Star Voting, Povich, White Sox

As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. All-Star Voting begins:

The first phase of MLB’s All-Star fan voting opened yesterday. Phase one of voting will continue until June 27 at 11am CT. Fans are allowed to vote five times per day and, as per usual, vote for one infielder at each position per league, one DH per league, and three outfielders per league. Much like last year, the player who receives the most votes overall in each league will be automatically assured a starting spot at their position on their league’s All-Star roster, while the top two infielders at each position per league, top two DHs per league, and top six outfielders per league will all move on to the second phase of voting, which runs from June 30 to July 3. You can follow this link to cast a ballot for yourself.

2. Povich to debut:

The Orioles are promoting top pitching prospect Cade Povich for his major league debut later today, as manager Brandon Hyde told reporters last night. Povich is not yet on the club’s 40-man roster, but a corresponding move won’t be necessary as Baltimore has had space available since right-hander Thyago Vieira was designated for assignment earlier this week.

Selected by the Twins in the third round of the 2021 draft, Povich came over to the Orioles alongside Yennier Cano in the trade that sent Jorge Lopez to Minnesota. His first full season in Baltimore was a difficult one (5.04 ERA in 126 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A), but he’s enjoyed plenty of success at Triple-A in 2024. In 56 2/3 innings, Povich has posted a 3.18 ERA with a fantastic 32.5% strikeout rate while cutting his walk rate from last year’s 12% to a more manageable 9.1%. Povich, who recently landed 99th on Baseball America’s updated top-100 prospect list, will take the mound opposite Blue Jays lefty Yusei Kikuchi (3.66 ERA) at 1:07pm local time.

3. White Sox’ historic skid continues:

It’s hardly a surprise that the 2024 campaign has been a brutal one for the White Sox after the club lost 101 games last year, made only token additions to the club’s roster during the offseason, and traded ace Dylan Cease to the Padres just before Opening Day. Even when considering those factors, however, the season has been a tough one for fans on the south side of Chicago. The club enters play today with a brutal 15-47 record, “good” for a whopping 26 games back in the AL Central. They’ve reached this low point as a result of an ongoing streak of 13 consecutive losses that includes series sweeps at the hands of the Cubs, Brewers, Blue Jays, and Orioles.

As noted by MLB.com’s Scott Merkin last night, those 13 consecutive losses tie a record from a century ago for the longest losing streak in franchise history. The White Sox will look to avoid breaking that record at 7:10pm local time this evening, when the visiting Red Sox come to town. That task won’t be easy for the club as they’re scheduled to face right-hander Tanner Houck (1.85 ERA), who has been one of the league’s most effective pitchers thus far. One silver lining for Chicago is the recent return of star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. who collected two hits (including a home run) against the Cubs in his first game back from the injured list on Tuesday.