Phase 2 of All-Star balloting is under way. In the National League, Ronald Acuña Jr. received the most votes, earning him the right to bypass Phase 2 and get an automatic spot in the NL starting lineup. The final two spots come down to these four players: Mookie Betts, Joc Pederson, Starling Marte and Adam Duvall.

A group of MLB.com reporters gathered to debate who should make the cut.

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Alyson Footer, editor/moderator: I'll ask the same question I asked our American League crew -- should the winners be the players with the most star power, or should it be based solely on first-half merit? If we're leaning toward the popularity contest, Betts drives the vote, right?

Anthony DiComo, Mets beat reporter: It's an All-Star Game. It's an exhibition. We do fan voting for a reason, so if the fans vote for someone who's not the absolute most deserving choice, I totally get that and have no problem with it.

That said, if there's a significant gap, that's a different story. (I certainly know some folks who were pretty upset that Ozzie Albies was a second base finalist over Jeff McNeil, for example.)

Mark Bowman, Braves beat reporter: With Betts we have a guy who has both star power and great first-half numbers. It will be cool to see the ovation he gets from Dodgers fans, who might also love to see Joc in the outfield, as long as he's not wearing a Giants uniform. Marte has had a great season, but I think I'd give the nod to Joc because he too brings great credentials and star power.

Sarah Langs, reporter/producer: Ooh, I get to hone in on my answer from the AL! I do think if there’s an overwhelming stats or performance gap, that speaks for itself and goes without saying. But I do think fans wanting to see stars matters, too. Betts missed some time injured, so his counting stats aren’t where they’d be otherwise -- but I think he fulfills both buckets here.

Bowman: Yeah, in this digital voting age, it has been comforting to see this become a little less of a popularity contest and more of a process that rewards what has been done over the previous few months.

Footer: I guess I don't think one half should determine if someone is an All-Star. To me, "All- Star" means he's doing something special over a long period of time. After all, there is no exhibition game for a guy who has a good second half.

Langs: That’s what I love about All-MLB! A full season acknowledgement. The funny thing, if you look at All-Stars historically (and anecdotally, to be fair), is that a lot of them end up being a commentary on the prior year’s second half. Whenever I come across an All-Star whose overall season stats that year don’t quite scream it, looking a line up on the ledger almost always solves the mystery.

DiComo: I would argue that Starling Marte is every bit the star that Joc Pederson is. He just hasn't had a chance to showcase himself in playoff games, so perhaps the average fan isn't as familiar with his body of work. In the regular season, he's done plenty of damage.

Footer: I’m a little confused about Duvall making the final four. Any insight here?

Bowman: The fans should always have a say in this voting process. This exhibition game has always been designed for them to see their favorite players. So, you still have to appreciate when the strength of a fanbase like the Braves' leads to somebody like Duvall being a finalist. There are others who view All-Stars like you do, Alyson. So, it makes sense for the fans to provide support for a guy who hit 38 homers last year and helped Atlanta win a World Series.

Does Starling know the power of pearls?

DiComo: No, but he does wear a pretty swaggy Mickey Mouse necklace on the field.

There are two explanations for Duvall being a finalist in my eyes. One is the hangover effect -- dude hit 38 homers last year, led the league in RBIs and won a World Series. A lot of times, fans reward players a year too late. The other is that Braves Country really seems to be active in voting for their guys. They make things happen.

Footer: Like the Royals seven years ago.

I think Betts/Joc makes great theater. Joc gets cheered, right?

Bowman: I'm pretty sure Joc will be cheered in that setting. And I think he would provide great theater out there in the outfield. Maybe he could go out there with both of his World Series rings, one on each hand. Or both on the one hand.

Langs: That would be epic! Still wild to me that Pederson became just the ninth to win it all in back-to-back years with two different teams. Every fan has to respect that, I hope. It’s funny how he ends up with the Dodgers’ bitter rivals, because of course, but he was such an L.A. staple for years. It’d be his second All-Star start -- when he started in 2015, DJ LeMahieu was the NL’s starting second baseman and Jhonny Peralta was at short.

Footer: It's also easy to get caught up in this process and forget there will be more outfielders populating the NL roster. This is just the starting lineup. Still, I'm not sure this is how anyone would have mapped it out at the beginning of the season. I would have leaned toward Kyle Schwarber, to be honest.

I think we can all agree that Betts, being the hometown guy, needs to be out there. I'm debating between Marte and Joc for the second spot. I was all #TeamJoc before we started this, but there are compelling arguments for Marte.

DiComo: If Marte hadn't gotten off to such a slow start, it wouldn't even be a debate. He's batting .315/.363/.523 with seven of his nine homers since the start of May. But that's the difficulty of All-Star voting -- you're trying to judge players on a pretty small sample size. Oftentimes in baseball, it takes longer to sort out what kind of season a player is going to have.

I'd mostly like to see Marte in L.A. because you know in an exhibition setting, he'll be trying to steal second and third anytime he reaches base. Maybe even home.

Langs: Sometimes, the All-Star Game can be a chance to really display how captivating a player is, on a big and fun-filled stage. I feel like this could be that moment for Marte, to Anthony’s point. He had a pinch-hit single against Andrew Miller in his lone All-Star appearance in 2016, but that was in the top of the eighth.

Plus, I want to see the stolen-base prediction come true. Only five players have swiped multiple bags in a single All-Star Game: Starlin Castro (2011), Kenny Lofton (1996), Roberto Alomar ('92), Kelly Gruber ('90) and Willie Mays ('63).

Bowman: Yeah, the easy preseason prediction might have been Betts, Soto and Acuña even though it was known Acuña would miss most of April. Pederson and Marte have had good seasons. But it will also be nice to see guys like Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo and Schwarber gain selections.

I think we should give the fans what they really want, a starting outfield of Pederson, Tommy Pham and Schwarber, who would be the in-outfield referee.

DiComo: I think Ichiro should make the All-Star Game every year until he's 100 years old. But that might not be relevant.

Footer: I was more Team Popularity Contest in the AL debate, but I'm leaning toward Team He Deserves This on the NL side. The lack of traditional "star" power makes me feel like we should just give it to the guys who truly have risen to the occasion in the first half.

But I'm still ranking them Betts, Joc, Marte, Duvall.

DiComo: I might be biased because I watch Starling play every night, but I'll go Betts, Marte, Joc, Duvall.

Langs: I think these are all great options, but I’ll go Betts, Pederson, Marte, Duvall. Mostly because I want the confused-fan crowd views of Dodgers fans deciding what to do about their World Series-winning former player, sporting that S.F. logo.

Bowman: I'm going Betts, Joc, Marte and Duvall. I want to see the L.A. fans cheer Joc during the All-Star Game and then boo the heck out of him when the Giants open up at Dodger Stadium immediately after the break.