3 Reasons Why Odubel Herrera Is A Keeper For The Phillies
In the past months, Odubel Herrera has been one of the hottest, if not the hottest, Phillies. After hitting .362 in July, he followed that up by batting .333 in August. In addition to his strong hitting, Herrera has been explosive and dynamic in the field. And now the questions are starting to arise: should Herrera be a major part of the Phillies’ future? Can he maintain the success? Here are three reasons why the center fielder is a core player and should continue to wear the Phillies’ colors for years to come:
1) Fielding Potential
Herrera grew up in the minor leagues playing mostly middle infield. Despite his lack of experience playing in the outfield, the Phillies decided to place him in center field during the 2014-15 season. He has been consistent and has shown flashes of real greatness. With a quick first step and the ability to track balls well, he can cover a lot of ground and get to a lot of balls.
Throughout the season he has made a mere 5 errors that gives him a fielding percentage of 98.2%. Even though that isn’t atop the league, it is an encouraging number, and with his natural ability, he’s looking like a cornerstone outfielder.
The Venezuelan native also ranks in the top 15 of all center fielders in putouts for the 2015 season. With 273 putouts, he heads guys like Andrew McCutchen and Leonys Martin.
2) Five-Tool Player Potential
Herrera has the potential to be a five-tool player. During his entire minor league career, he has been able to consistently hit for average at .294. He has continued to maintain that in the majors, batting .293, and above .330 in the past two months. On top of that, Herrera is quick, explosive, and athletic, allowing him to swipe some bases. This year, he has 15 steals and had 128 in his 6 seasons in the minors.
Moreover, Herrera has an above average arm. He has five assists this season, ranking him 13th of all center fielders in the MLB. Lastly, the twenty-three year old has shown flashes of real power. Sometimes he can get a hold of a ball and it can really pop off of his bat. Although he hasn’t ripped home runs consistently in neither the minors nor the majors, he has the potential to hit 10-20 home runs in a season. With all of these skills, Herrera could, and is actually very close, to being a true five-tool player.
3) Productivity and Progress
We often see rookies go through hot streaks, but then slowly cool off. Unable to handle the lengthy season and daily games, that dip in performance usually happens closer to the end of the year. In 2015, we’ve seen it occur with both Joc Pederson and Jung Ho Kang.
Herrera also began the season playing well, only to slow down significantly. He batted .301 in April, but then .202 in May and .261 in June. But it didn’t take a toll on Herrera. The man bounced back by batting .362 in July and then .333 in August. We are also seeing Herrera become better at getting on base. His August monthly on-base percentage was his highest all year, at .390. He hasn’t shown any signs of letting up either, accumulating four hits on the 30th of August, his tenth multi-hit game of the month.
The former Rule 5 selection has shown that he can hang with the big boys and his progress makes you wonder how good he could be in the coming seasons.
Beware MLB, Odubel Herrera is just beginning.
Photo courtesy of www.todaysknuckleball.com
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