On May 18th, Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis strained his hamstring against the St. Louis Cardinals and was placed on the 15-day disabled list the following day, adding his name to a long list of Dodgers who have spent time on the disabled list this season.
As a result of Ellis' injury, the Dodgers called up longtime minor league veteran Elian Herrera to replace him. The 27-year-old had spent seven seasons in the minor leagues before his call up roughly three weeks ago, and he has not disappointed. In addition, Herrera has been very consistent since his promotion to the big leagues, perhaps even more so than Ellis, which leads to the following question: Should Herrera remain the starting second baseman upon Mark Ellis' eventual return?
Mark Ellis, despite his .273 average, two home runs and nine runs batted in, had begun to go downhill in his performance at the time of his injury. Herrera, meanwhile, boasts a .308/0/9 RBI stat line and, as mentioned earlier, has provided a measure of consistency at second base in his 19 MLB games this season.
Herrera has filled his role admirably throughout his major league stint, and frankly, has better ability than Mark Ellis at this point in time. Herrera has never had much power in his career, however, he has always been an excellent average hitter dating back to his long minor league career, as he routinely hit in the .280 range throughout his seven minor league seasons. In addition, Herrera boasts good speed and baserunning skills, and is seven years younger than Ellis.
Dodgers second baseman Elian Herrera has definitely produced and made the most out of his major league opportunity, and as a result of his consistency, I believe Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly should opt to keep Herrera as the starting second baseman over Mark Ellis.
What are your thoughts on Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Elian Herrera? Should he remain the starter, sent to the bench, or perhaps demoted back to the minor leagues? Leave your thoughts on this debate in the "Comments" section below!
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