Cincinnati Reds' prospect Dilson Herrera stuck behind Brandon Phillips at second base
The Cincinnati Reds traded slugger Jay Bruce to the New York Mets for Dilson Herrera, but can’t get the young second baseman on the field.
When the Cincinnati Reds traded for Dilson Herrera, they planned on having him become the second baseman of the future. With Brandon Phillips still in Cincinnati the future is still on hold. With Eugenio Suarez at third there is nowhere to play Herrera.
Herrera is a young player. He doesn’t turn 23 until March of 2017. That gives him plenty of time to transition to the big leagues.
He was only 20-years old when he made his MLB debut for the New York Mets in 2014. He was called up from Double-A after starting the season in Single-A. Now Herrera is the heir apparent at second for the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds have done a nice job clearing the deck for Herrera. Besides Phillips, only Jose Peraza and Tony Renda are big league second basemen. Non-roster invitee Brandon Dixon and outfielder/infielder Arismendy Alcantara are the only other players in camp with second base experience.
Herrera just has to continue to prepare and wait for Phillips to move on to another team. The waiting is the hard part. Herrera has been preparing for years.
Dilson Herrera is an infielder with plus power that fits best defensively at second, despite some other experience.
Herrera has only played second base in each of the past two seasons. Prior to that he spent some time at short and third. He has played six times as many games in his professional career at second as all other positions combined.
Looking at his splits, pre and post trade, Herrera’s offensive consistency is utterly amazing. Between his two Triple-A teams, his batting average, OBP and OPS were all within ten points of the number from the other stop. His OPS was only four points different, showing his offensive consistency.
Herrera played for the Mets in 2014 and 2015. He struggled somewhat offensively, batting .215 with a .308 OBP. He did hit 6 home runs in limited time, which projects to 24 over an entire season.
That’s where things get dicey. Herrera is a power-hitting, middle of the order second baseman. He needs to be batting clean-up in Cincinnati, not toiling away in Louisville.
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Herrera’s minor league line looks fantastic. He has batted .298 with a .362 OBP and an .830 OPS. He has had double digit totals in home runs in each of the past four seasons and finally belongs in Cincinnati to stay everyday in 2017.
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