Escobar, Span making All-Star cases (with lineups)

The Nationals boast three of the top 10 hitters in the National League. Bryce Harper has been getting most of the attention and deservingly so. Harper isn't just knocking the ball out of the ballpark. He's hitting 68 points higher than his career mark and Harper's .340 batting average is third best in the league.

With the Major League Baseball All-Star fan vote closing at 11:59 p.m. ET tonight, Harper is virtually guaranteed to lead all players. At last count, Harper had over three million more votes than the nearest player.

Yunel Escobar and Denard Span have made strong cases to play in the Midsummer Classic as well. Escobar's .321 average is fourth best in the NL while Span's .310 average is eight highest.

Escobar, who has never made an All-Star team in his nine-year career, shows on the ballot as a second baseman, the position most around the game expected him to play after the Nationals acquired him in January. But the 32-year-old has started 66 of his 69 games at third base with the other three coming as the designated hitter. Escobar's 87 hits are tied for seventh in the NL and he owns the 13th best on-base percentage at .372.

Despite starting the season on the disabled list, Span didn't miss a beat from where he left off last season when he tied for the NL lead with 184 hits. He currently owns a 21-game on-base streak dating back to June 4. Over the stretch, Span is hitting .318 with four doubles, six RBIs, 13 walks, six stolen bases and 15 runs scored.

Like Escobar, Span has never played in a MLB All-Star game.

Meanwhile, tonight's starter Max Scherzer is likely to lead the NL's parade of pitchers to the mound on July 14 in Cincinnati. Scherzer's 1.79 ERA is the second best mark in the majors while his nine wins are tied for third most.

For the Nationals:

CF Denard Span
SS Danny Espinosa
3B Yunel Escobar
RF Bryce Harper
C Wilson Ramos
2B Dan Uggla
1B Tyler Moore
LF Michael A. Taylor
RHP Max Scherzer

For the Braves:

2B Jace Peterson
CF Cameron Maybin
RF Nick Markakis
C A.J. Pierzynski
3B Juan Uribe
1B Kelly Johnson
SS Andrelton Simmons
LF Eury Perez
LHP Manny Banuelos