Philadelphia Phillies: Adam Haseley still has time to win the starting CF job – Section 215

When it was first announced that Adam Haseley would be missing a majority of this years Spring Training due to a groin injury, a good number of people wrote him off as unlikely to be the Philadelphia Phillies starting center fielder on Opening Day (myself included).

With such a fierce competition expected to take place out in CF this spring, many assumed the lost time would simply rule Haseley out of the Opening Day conversation. Throw in the fact that Joe Girardi hasnt seemed super keen on using Haseley in the past, and all signs pointed towards the former first-round pick starting off the season on the bench, or even on the IL.

However, despite the initial projections, Haseley is already back in action. Hell be available as a backup during the teams Tuesday night game against the Toronto Blue Jays, and has already been announced as a starter for the teams Wednesday afternoon game against the Detroit Tigers:

Obviously, thats all super good news. Haseley has struggled with lingering injuries in the past, so seeing him quickly rebound from this groin issue is a positive development in that regard. Additionally, theres still a full weeks worth of Spring Training ball left to be played. Haseley might be working with a bit of a disadvantage as he has limited time to find his swing again, but seven games could easily be enough time for Haseley to change the Phillies current plans out in center field.

The other main factor thats aiding Haseley in his attempt to be named the Opening Day center fielder is the fact that the rest of his competition hasnt exactly risen to the occasion. Scott Kingery has been a disaster at the plate (and could see time in AAA this year), Odubel Herrera has flashed some pop at times, but has also been a streaky hitter this spring, and Roman Quinn continues to look like the same ol Roman Quinn from years past.

Herrera is the frontrunner out in CF at the moment, but the Phillies would likely jump at the opportunity to exclude the controversial outfielder from their Opening Day roster to make way for a potentially surging Adam Haseley.

Haseleys swing looked solid during his first couple at-bats prior to the injury he even hit a leadoff home run to kick things off back in late February. If the young lefty can return to the lineup in a similar form, the odds of him overtaking the likes of Herrera and Quinn in the CF pecking order seem high.

Set to turn 25 in April, theres still a ton of potential left to be squeezed out of Haseley moving forward. However, the Philadelphia Phillies are desperately trying to crack the postseason this year, and their patience might be thin when it comes to the CF position. Herrera has shown enough promise this spring to deserve a few reps out there in the regular season, and I wouldnt even rule out a midseason upgrade via the trade market should Dave Dombrowski be unsatisfied with the results hes getting.

For the meantime, however, Haseley will likely be getting every opportunity in the world to win back the job over the next couple of days.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Adam Haseley still has time to win the starting CF job - Section 215