MILWAUKEE -- Corey Hart has never been too flashy.

The Milwaukee Brewers right fielder has got some power in his bat, but he doesn't rank among the National League leaders in home runs.

He's fast, but isn't up there in stolen bases, either.

So it won't be a surprise when Major League Baseball announces its All-Star teams this afternoon that Hart won 't have collected enough fan votes to start in the outfield for the NL.

"Obviously back home, my hometown in Kentucky, I'm pretty popular," said Hart, who was eighth in voting as of Monday, when MLB released its final set of preliminary numbers.

"But I've never been too much in the spotlight. So who knows? I'm sure I can appeal to some people, but a lot of people probably don't know who I am."

What Hart is is incredibly consistent, a player who's good -- if not great -- at everything.

Despite going 0-for-3 Saturday against Pittsburgh, he led Brewers regulars with a .294 batting average, was second in runs batted in (53), tied for third in home runs (14) and first in stolen bases (12). He's also a steady defender in the outfield.

Hart has arguably been Milwaukee's most reliable player this season by avoiding prolonged slumps. His longest stretch of consecutive games without a hit was four -- he also had one stretch of three and twice posted back-to-back hitless games -- and he's had at least one hit in 62 of the 86 games in which he's played.

Yet Hart is anything but assured of a spot on the NL roster for the July 15 game at Yankee Stadium. He's certainly in a more precarious position than teammates Ben Sheets and Ryan Braun, who are expected to land All-Star berths.

Braun was trying to overtake Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs for the final starting outfield spot when fan balloting ended Wednesday -- though a report on the New York Post's Web site said Fukudome held on -- while Sheets' pitching numbers (10-2 with a 2.77 ERA) rank among the best in the NL. All pitchers are chosen by each league's manager.

Braun spent the past week campaigning for votes on various television and radio appearances set up by the Brewers' media relations staff.

"It's great recognition for the team, for the city, whenever you can get on the national stage -- especially this year, being in New York, the last year in Yankee Stadium," said Braun, who is ninth in the NL in home runs (20) and eighth in RBIs (58). "It's going to be a very historic event, so hopefully I get an opportunity."

But Braun, last year's NL Rookie of the Year, has the sort of name recognition Hart lacks -- which is why the Brewers' media relations staff e-mailed Colorado and NL manager Clint Hurdle information on Hart.

Still, he'll have to beat out players such as Colorado's Matt Holliday, Pittsburgh's Xavier Nady, Houston's Carlos Lee, St. Louis' Ryan Ludwick, Philadelphia's Pat Burrell -- and maybe even Braun.

Hart's resume would suggest he at least has a chance to do that.

He's seventh among NL outfielders with at least 200 at-bats in batting average. None of the players above him, though, have as many homers, and only Nady can match his 53 RBIs.

Hart's .350 average with runners in scoring position is the best among Brewers regulars, and that number increases to .375 with two outs.

"There's a lot of great players like Corey Hart that don't get looked at," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "Corey's always been really, really underrated.

"Do I personally think that he's getting overlooked? Yes, I do. But is he? No. There's a lot of guys having great years that are in his category that -- believe me, I've been through this process, trying to pick an All-Star team -- there's only so many spots."

Should Hart join Braun and Sheets in New York, Milwaukee will have had three or more All-Stars for the third straight year. That hasn't happened since the early 1980s, when the Brewers had at least three representatives from 1980 to '83.

"I think to a certain extent it just puts Milwaukee on the map," Braun said. "I think it's exciting and it's got to be enticing to free agents, to see stuff like that as well. That's how you get more and more good players to come in over the years."