#ASGWorthy: Battle rages within Bucs outfield

It’s hardly a stretch to say that a Pirates outfielder deserves to be voted on to the National League All-Star team this season. The bigger question is which one to pick when filling out an 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game ballot.

Center fielder Andrew McCutchen is by far the biggest name of the group, a former NL Most Valuable Player Award winner who has made it to the Midsummer Classic in five straight years, including starts in 2014 and ’15. Yet it’s left fielder Starling Marte and right fielder Gregory Polanco, both aiming for their first All-Star selections, who have put up the most eye-catching numbers.

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Pirates #ASGWorthy players

There is plenty of competition for starting spots for the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard on July 12 in San Diego. The Nationals’ Bryce Harper is authoring a worthy follow-up to his NL MVP campaign, the Cubs’ Dexter Fowler is off to a scorching start, and the Brewers’ Ryan Braun, the Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes, the Phillies’ Odubel Herrera, the Cardinals’ Stephen Piscotty and the Marlins’ Christian Yelich are among the other NL outfielders putting together strong first halves.

Still, it’s difficult to ignore Pittsburgh, even though McCutchen has yet to reach his usual level of performance. While Cutch remains productive, he has career lows in batting average (.248), on-base percentage (.337), and weighted runs created-plus (117), with his …

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