'Pigs hurlers nose-to-nose among fans

Lehigh Valley players have seen an outpouring of support from fans throughout the Triple-A All-Star voting process. Some IronPigs have been leaders from the get-go, but others have seen a late surge. As the voting deadline draws near (Friday, June 25, at 11:59 p.m. ET), two IronPigs find themselves in a particularly tight race.

Brian Mazone (4-7, 3.77 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) leads the fan voting for International League starting pitcher, nudging out teammate Drew Carpenter (6-6, 3.74 ERA, 1.31 WHIP). Carpenter has been the leader for most of the season, but Mazone has been steadily climbing with each start. Either way, Lehigh Valley fans have done all they can to help make sure an IronPigs pitcher gets the nod at the team's home park on July 14.

Another race that continues to rage among fans is for the third spot in the Pacific Coast League outfield, and it's a three-way race that also includes a pair teammates. Though the top two outfield spots seem secured by Chris Lubanski of Las Vegas and Fresno's Tyler Graham, fan voting remains up for grabs for the third slot between a pair of River Cats and a member of the RedHawks. Whether the fans select Oklahoma City's Brandon Boggs (.284, 7 HRs, 26 RBIs) over highly touted Michael Taylor (.238, 3 HR, 31 RBIs) or his speedy River Cats teammate Corey Wimberly (.278, 45 runs, 27 steals) will be decided in the coming hours.

The battle for PCL designated hitter is a tight one between a pair of players with some Major League service under their belt. Sacramento's Jack Cust (.273, 4 HR, .436 SLG) and the Omaha Royals' Alex Gordon (.335, 10 HR, .584 SLG) have gone back and forth since fan voting began. Though Cust played well enough to join the A's last month, he has not made an appearance with the big club in the last five games.

Online ballots will be available at MiLB.com, ilbaseball.com or pclbaseball.com through June 25. With the races so close, your favorite players can use all the votes they can get. Fan voting counts for one-third of the total, so your vote can make all the difference!