By: Tim Kelly, Managing Editor 
One season ago, Odubel Herrera's month of May — a month in which he hit just .202 — led many to wonder if the Rule-5 pick's .301 average in April wasn't a fluke, at least to a degree. Since that time, the conversation surrounding Herrera appears to have drastically shifted back in the direction of having a positive tone.
After batting .297 and posting a 3.8 WAR in his rookie season of 2015, Herrera has overcome a slow start in 2016 and now leads the Phillies with a .324 average, while being among the league leaders in walks and on-base percentage.
Given that the rest of the Phillies outfield is hitting a combed .193 with zero home runs and 14 RBIs, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin has yet to give Odubel Herrera a day off this season. The Phillies are only 32 games into the season, but when asked by Matt Gelb of Philly.com, Mackanin didn't seem to think it was a far-fetched idea that Herrera could play all 162 games this season.
But Herrera said 162 is a goal. And his manager, Pete Mackanin, sees some merit to the idea. "He's full of energy," Mackanin said. "I think he can do it."
Mackanin did also tell Gelb that if Herrera were to go through a prolonged slump he wouldn't continue to play him just for the sake of reaching the 162 game total. And despite the lack of overall talent in the rest of the Phillies lineup, this is fairly believable because Maikel Franco has been rested twice this season, despite being one of just two consistent power sources on the team.
Herrera's teammate, Ryan Howard, was the last Phillie to play in all 162 games, though judging off of some of the injuries that Howard had after the 2008 season, it's fair to wonder what type of long-term toll that took on Howard. Herrera is just 24, while Howard was 28, and Herrera is a completely different type of player, but on a team that most likely won't be competing for the playoffs in the second half of the season, it would seem to be an uncessarry excercise to have Herrera not get a few days off this season.
