Phillies should bat Odubel Herrera leadoff

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Two weeks into the 2016 season, the Phillies have the least productive offense in Major League Baseball, with the fewest runs, hits and baserunners per nine innings. And not surprisingly, the struggles start at the top of the lineup, with the club's leadoff hitters batting a collective .132 — 7-for-53 with one run, two RBIs and not a single walk through 13 games.

Yet curiously enough, the Phillies' best candidate to lead off hasn't taken a single at bat from that spot in the order. Not only is Odubel Herrera's .415 on-base percentage highest on the team among everyday players by nearly 100 points, but the mark is tied for 26th in the majors. The centerfielder is also third in the big leagues with 12 walks, and nobody is seeing more than his 5.18 pitches per plate appearance.

Herrera is the closest thing to a prototypical leadoff hitter the Phillies have on their roster. Instead, he's split all of his time between the two- and three-hole thus far, a decision manager Pete Mackanin rationalized last week.

“Because he has enough pop where I’d rather have him hit with men on base than leading off," said Mackanin.

That's great, in theory.

In practice, the players in front of Herrera — typically Freddy Galvis and/or Cesar Hernandez — aren't getting on base with any regularity.

Of Herrera's 53 plate appearances this season, 22 were with at least one runner on base. Only 12 times has he come up when there's a runner in scoring position. There simply haven't been a ton of opportunities to drive in runs, as evidenced by his five RBIs.

Meanwhile, Herrera has shown he's comfortable in the leadoff role. As a rule-five rookie, he hit .333 with a .368 OBP in 118 plate appearances in 2015. In fact, Herrera's numbers at the top of the order were better than anywhere else in the lineup.

Now in his second major-league season, Herrera's patience at the plate has only improved. The 24-year-old is laying off bad pitches, working deep counts and drawing more free passes as a result. His average may be a pedestrian .244, but he's reached base safely in every game except one.

Still, Mackanin stuck to his guns during the Phillies' weekend series versus the Nationals.

“Before too long, hopefully we’ll have some kind of a better plan with regard to that. But right now I’m searching.”

That was on Friday. Up until Galvis' 11th-inning, game-winning double on Sunday, Phillies leadoff hitters had gone 19 consecutive at bats without getting on base. So how's that search coming along?

It's time to move Herrera to the top of the order if for no other reason than to get the best hitter on the team an extra at bat here and there. Ideally, it would go a long way toward generating more offense as a whole if there's actually somebody on the basepaths when the meat of the lineup is stepping up to the dish. Herrera isn't necessarily a traditional leadoff hitter, either, but he may prove to be the catalyst the Phillies so desperately need.

Obviously, the poor offensive numbers and problem filling the leadoff spot are largely a reflection of the talent level on a rebuilding team. Maybe it's nitpicking even bringing up. What the Phillies are doing clearly isn't working, however, and it's not as if they've exhausted all of their options.

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