CHICAGO -- Cubs catcher Geovany Soto and outfielders Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome will be elected to start in the All-Star Game, barring a surprising surge in the final week of fan voting.
Four other Cubs must mount late comebacks in the polls to have a shot at cracking the starting lineup in New York on July 15.

Soto, Soriano and Fukudome have led at every voting checkpoint, including the fifth National League All-Star ballot update released Tuesday.
Soto is ahead of Atlanta's Brian McCann by about 500,000 votes, while Soriano is pacing all outfielders with a lead of about 280,000 votes. Fukudome is second, and Ken Griffey Jr. would be the third outfield starter based on current vote totals. Soriano is expected to be out through the All-Star break with a broken bone in his left hand, but he wants to return early to play at Yankee Stadium one more time. Soriano played for the Yankees from 1999-2003.
The 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, being held at Yankee Stadium in its final season, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD, and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 7 p.m. CT. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game.
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