NL OF: Acuna fending off Blackmon for 3rd

NL OF: Acuna fending off Blackmon for 3rd

June 27th, 2019

With less than an hour to go as the 4 p.m. ET deadline nears, many races are still too close to call. Your votes will have a huge impact, as most position battles have yet to be decided.

As of 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday, the NL outfield featured one of the most compelling races in the Starters Election.

Christian Yelich has a 1.2% lead over Cody Bellinger at the top of the position rankings. Ronald Acuña Jr.'s lead over Charlie Blackmon grew slightly to 2.3% in the battle for the third starting spot.

Below are the complete NL outfield standings. Winners will be announced tonight at 7 ET on ESPN.

  1. (Brewers): 22.3%
  2. (Dodgers): 21.1%
  3. (Braves): 14.9%
  4. (Rockies): 12.6%
  5. (Braves): 8.1%
  6. (Cubs): 6.5%
  7. (Cubs): 5.4%
  8. (Cubs): 5.1%
  9. (Dodgers): 4.1%

• Complete standings coverage

• VOTE NOW: Google All-Star Starters Election ballot

Learn more about the NL All-Star candidates in the outfield:

(ATL): Has not been named to an All-Star team
Last year’s NL Rookie of the Year has continued to rake in his first full MLB season. Acuña will likely become just the 16th player in MLB history to reach 50 career home runs through his age-21 season. The only players 21 or younger to start an All-Star Game in the past 30 years are Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.

(CHC): Has not been named to an All-Star team
Cubs fans appreciate Almora’s theatrics in center field, as the 25-year-old has made his share of highlight plays while ranking among the league leaders in Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric. The Cubs haven’t had an outfielder start the All-Star Game since Kosuke Fukudome in 2008.

(LAD): 1-time All-Star (0 starts)
The 2017 National League Rookie of the Year has been flirting with the Triple Crown, hitting .400 well into May while leading the league in WAR. By May 28, he’d already reached 20 home runs and 50 RBIs for the season, after finishing last year with 25 and 76.

(COL): 3-time All-Star (1 start)
After taking a bit of a step back last year, Blackmon seems to be back to his 2017 form, when he finished fifth in the NL MVP race. He certainly helped his All-Star candidacy by putting together five straight games with at least three hits from June 13-18, going a combined 18-for-29 in that span.

(CHC): 1-time All-Star (0 starts)
Heyward hasn’t made an All-Star team since being selected as a Braves rookie back in 2010. The five-time Gold Glove Award winner already has topped last year’s total of eight homers and has been an on-base machine against right-handed pitching.

(ATL): 1-time All-Star (1 start)
Last year, he set a record for most career games played before his first All-Star selection and wound up as the NL’s starting right fielder. Markakis hasn’t matched 2018’s first-half production (.323/.389/.488), but he has walked more than he has struck out while crossing the 2,300-hit barrier for his career. No Braves player has started consecutive All-Star Games since Chipper Jones in 2000-01.

(LAD): 1-time All-Star (1 start)
Pederson last made the Midsummer Classic as a 23-year-old rookie in 2015 and now could do so again on the strength of his first two months. Prior to a June slump, the left-handed slugger was batting .274/.375/.662 with 17 homers.

(CHC): Has not been named to an All-Star team
He is bringing the power as usual, putting him well on his way to a third straight season with 25-plus homers. Schwarber has done much of his damage as the Cubs’ leadoff man and has been locked in so far this month.

(MIL): 1-time All-Star (0 starts)
At last year’s All-Star break, Yelich was hitting .292/.364/.459 in his first season with the Brewers -- stellar but hardly a sign of things to come. Since that point, Yelich has been just about unstoppable, crushing more than 50 homers and leading the Majors in several offensive categories. If not for Bellinger, he’d be well on his way to a second straight NL MVP Award.

The 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be played on Tuesday, July 9, at Progressive Field in Cleveland. It will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.