Phillies: Who has the best chance to start in center field?

Roman Quinn, 20%

Roman Quinn having a one-in-five chance to win the job just feels right. While he is certainly the worst baseball player out of the four, he is someone who has plenty of experience that didn’t go great —but not terrible — for his standards under Joe Girardi.

In 2020, Quinn platooned with Adam Haseley. Theoretically, with Haseley being injured, Quinn should slide up and be the full-time starter until he returns. But, there are two problems with that logic — Kingery will almost certainly be better and Mickey Moniak is playing great baseball.

Quinn has played four games so far this spring and is 3-for-9. On Sunday against the Yankees, he went 1-for-2 with his hit being a swinging bunt. The one good thing Quinn can bring is his old-school speed, but is that enough to give himself the chance to be a starter? The Phillies may or may not think so.

While Quinn will be tied for the second-best odds, they can get worse if in two weeks Moniak continues to play well. To be perfectly honest, his chances of making the team aren’t exactly 100% either.

Odubel Herrera, 20%

While Odubel Herrera shouldn’t be in this competition, I believe he is tied for the second-best odds to win the starting centerfield job.

Herrera was suspended two years ago after a domestic violence incident. He has not played in the majors since May 2019 and has since apologized to his teammates for what happened. Now off the 40-man roster, Herrera was not invited to the team’s alternate training site for the 2020 season, but received an invitation to partake in spring training mini-camp — the equivalent of minor-league spring training in a normal year.

So far this spring, Herrera is batting 4-for-9, including a home run. Out of all the center field candidates, he might have had his odds boosted the most with Haseley’s injury.

If Herrera wants any chance to win the job, he needs to do many things — among them to show that he is a changed man and be the best player at the position. The third and final thing is out of his control, the Phillies would have to warrant putting him back on not only the Opening Day roster but the 40-man roster — taking someone else’s spot in an already crowded 40-man situation.

Would the Phillies organization be willing to take this risk on a player who hasn’t been good since a stretch in 2018? Probably not, but there is a chance they do. It would look bad off the field if the Phillies made this decision, but it would also make the rest of the competition look bad. Kingery is a former top prospect who the Phillies signed to a large deal before even playing a game in the majors. Quinn was a former second-round pick who has been with the organization forever, and Moniak is a former No. 1 overall pick.

Mickey Moniak, 10%

At just 22, Mickey Moniak is the youngest player in the competition. Don’t count him out just yet. Moniak has maybe the biggest pedigree out of anyone in this competition, with being a No. 1 overall pick back in 2016. While he hasn’t received much playing time in the majors quite yet, it is certainly possible that he starts getting some.

Remember, this is a wide-open competition and any of the four can win it, so why not Moniak? So far this spring, he is batting 4-for-8 with two solo home runs.

If I am Joe Girardi, maybe I give Moniak more starts and more chances against MLB arms and just see what could happen. Maybe he is the best man for the job. While Moniak will have the lowest odds, it is a great sign even if he doesn’t win the role — that he can be a solid player one day. Again, he is only 22.