May 17, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Michael Young (10) celebrates scoring with catcher Carlos Ruiz (51) during the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

What are the main jobs of a leadoff hitter?

A leadoff hitter is supposed to be someone who gets on base a high percentage of the time, has some speed so he can steal a bag or move into scoring positions on well-placed base hits or outs, and put themselves in scoring position so that the “run producers” behind them can drive them home.

That is what a leadoff hitter is supposed to do.

This year, the Phillies leadoff hitters have been failing at their jobs.

Miserably.

Through 42 games, the Phillies lead-off hitters have a combined on-base percentage of .283. That’s 26th out of 30 MLB teams. Only the White Sox, Marlins, Mets and Twins have gotten less production from their leadoff hitters.

Ben Revere, who opened this season at the top of the lineup, has had a horrific season at the plate, hitting .237/.286/.263 for an OPS of .548. He has scored just 13 runs in 36 games, with 7 steals in 10 attempts. He has since been dropped down to 8th in the lineup, and is losing playing time to John Mayberry in center.

Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Hilderbrand-USA TODAY Sports

Jimmy Rollins, the Phils’ long-time leadoff hitter, has fared only marginally better, hitting .256/.305/.400 for an OPS of .705. He has scored 18 runs in 42 games, with just 4 steals in 6 attempts.

Clearly, the Phillies are not getting enough production out of the top of the lineup. And while it has been assumed that Revere or Rollins were the only viable options in the leadoff spot, perhaps there is one other person who could do the job.

Michael Young has done the best job at consistently getting on base on the Phillies this year. After drawing three more walks in Friday night’s 5-3 win over the Reds, Young now has walked 22 times in 41 games. Last year, he drew only 33 free passes in 156 games. His walk rate this year has skyrocketed to 13.9%, up from last year’s 5.1%. His career high walk rate is 7.9%, last done in 2009.

Young has never come anywhere close to being the kind of disciplined hitter he has been so far this year.

As a result, Young’s on-base percentage is .399, aided by a .301 batting average and a .360 BABIP. Still, Young has been getting on base far greater than any other member of the lineup.

That, of course, would be an extremely valuable tool to have batting first right now.

But what about his lack of speed, you may ask? Certainly Young cannot be expected to steal bases and create havoc with his legs.

Well, Rollins has only stolen four bags and made just six attempts so far this year. Revere is just 7 for 10. Neither speedster has utilized their speed all that much, mainly because they haven’t been getting on base enough to do it. So would the Phils really be losing anything by putting Young’s legs at the top of the order?

Or, to say it in a better way, doesn’t Young’s suddenly outstanding on-base skills trump the superior speed of people who don’t even get on base?

There’s also the matter of Young’s propensity to hit into double plays, already a league-leading 10 so far this year. But as a leadoff hitter, Young would have at least one guaranteed inning every day in which there would be no possibility of him creating two outs with one swing.

And Young hasn’t been getting many extra base hits, either. He is slugging .397, while Rollins is actually slightly better with a .400 slugging percentage. Removing a light hitter our of an area in the lineup in which slugging is more highly valued, and replacing him with a player with more extra-base hit potential – like Rollins – would also seem to make sense.

Don’t get me wrong, Young is not the ideal option for a leadoff hitter. But if the most important aspect of the job is getting on base, he is currently the team’s best candidate.

And that is not something anyone would have thought before this season began.

Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The narrative of Michael Young being a completely awful baseball player has been an awful lot of fun.

I mean, all that nonsense about the leadership qualities, their perceived value to the win column, the defensive train wreck and the anemic bat… we’ve all been having a lot of fun with it. I love making Michael Young “leadership” jokes. They’re a hoot.

But lost in the narrative are some early, small sample-size facts.

Michael Young hasn’t been terrible. In fact, he’s been better than anybody had a right to think he would be.

With a walk and another hit last night in four plate appearances, Young now has a 12-game hitting streak and is hitting .333, with a .382 on-base percentage, an OPS of .827 and an OPS+ of 123 in 68 plate appearances.

While it is still early and the rules about small sample sizes should undoubtedly be taken into consideration here…

I’m going to wait until at LEAST July to write my “I’m sorry, Michael Young” post

— RAD GOGGLES DOG (@Phylan) April 22, 2013

…these numbers are startlingly similar to the numbers he put up in 2011, in which he hit .338/.380 with an OPS of .854 and an OPS + of 125.

In 2011, he had 213 hits in 159 games. So far, he has 21 in 18 games.

Giggle if you want to, but at least SOMEBODY is placing the ball safely into the field of play with his bat.

And, while his range at third is laughable and he can sometimes look like a work in progress defensively, he hasn’t been as terrible as people feared.

Frankly, if people were expecting anything more from Young that what he’s given so far, I don’t know what to tell you.

I’ll say this: Michael Young has been better at 3rd than I’d envisioned.

— Phils-ville (@Philsvilleblog) April 22, 2013

Michael Young is hopefully just a one-year stopgap to Cody Asche. That’s the plan. And if the one-year stopgap ends up hitting over .300 and can manage to keep that WAR in positive territory, (so far he’s +0.1!!!), there really won’t be anything to complain about.

Yes, Young has serious deficiencies, and they are maddening. He hits for absolutely NO power. His defense is below average. He grounds into WAY too many double plays. He doesn’t make the pitcher work. And all the talk about his “leadership” qualities can be a downright choking hazard.

He would not be my first choice as an everyday third baseman.

But there’s no denying that, aside from Chase Utley, Michael Young has been the most consistent hitter for average on the Phillies so far in 2013. And he hasn’t been a butcher at third.

He’s been better than anyone could have expected.

We now allow your narrative to be rejoined, already in progress.

This was a topic on which I was walking around like an idiot, assuming it was a foregone conclusion.  Galvis is better defensively than Michael Young, even if Galvis was fully awake and we were counting the greatest defensive stops Young could conjure in his dreams while he was fast asleep.

Why I assume things like that is beyond me.  Because Michael Young is a great clubhouse guy, so naturally Charlie Manuel has taken a liking to him.

Asked Charlie if he’d double-switch Galvis in late for Young for his plus-glove. “If I get to the point I don’t think Young is a plus-glove”

— Dennis Deitch (@DennisDeitch) April 3, 2013

Charlie Manuel thinks Michael Young is a plus-glove third baseman.

Now, I’m no expert on the “plus-glove” scale, but it’s clearly a positive thing.  I don’t know if average, or poor, defenders are just known as “glove” defenders.  But Young is not a step above anybody – and he’s certainly not a step over Galvis, defensively.

April 21, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Freddy Galvis (13) against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

This is the kind of team the Phillies are – wrong-shaped pieces forced into roles that don’t suit them, supplemented and relieved by other, smaller pieces who fill more specific roles that balance out the downfalls of the bigger ones.  That’s what they’re supposed to be.  That’s what subbing in Galvis for Young late in games would mean they were.

If Charlie’s really not even going to do that and get Freddy some regular playing time, then what the hell is he even doing here?  Defensive replacement is what he is, and unless they are really, very sure that some infielder is going down at any moment, and need Freddy there in case of disaster.  If they thought really highly of him, they’d either be sure to get him in games, or send him down to play until they were ready to get him in some games.

Otherwise, if he’s just pinch hitting, we’re not making use of the most valuable part of his game.  I want him here, and I want him used.  Signing Michael Young in hopes that he bounces back at the plate after a down year is not an asinine plan.  Presuming that he is a “plus-glove” defender and that putting Galvis in for him as a defensive stopper late in games is wrong to do definitely is.  Charlie might just be seeing something that isn’t there.