Oli Marmol could take the Cardinals' offense to a new level with one simple move

So far this year, catcher/designated hitter Ivan Herrera has spent most of his time batting sixth in the lineup. Of his 51 plate appearances so far this year, 39 of them have come from the six hole. When healthy, he's found himself hitting in the back half of the lineup this year.

That needs to change soon.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol needs to move Ivan Herrera up in the lineup.

Immediately before Herrera went down with an injury, he was given a shot at batting second in the lineup behind on-base machine Lars Nootbaar. Herrera walked once and grounded into a double play in his one game in the two-hole against the Boston Red Sox. Since his return, he's solely hit sixth in the lineup.

This is a fine spot; he'll still see four plate appearances in most games, and he'll hit behind big-name players like Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and Alec Burleson, even. However, if the St. Louis Cardinals and manager Oliver Marmol want to take their top-10 offense to another level, Marmol needs to move Herrera up in the lineup.

Cardinal hitters from the number four spot have a .263/.339/.427 slash line, a decent line for hitters who are typically power hitters. Nolan Arenado has exclusively occupied that spot this year, and he is hitting just .253 there with a .731 OPS and a 104 wRC+. Once again, fine, but not great.

After another stellar performance against the Kansas City Royals on Friday night, Ivan Herrera is now slashing .419/.480/.907 for a 1.387 OPS. He has five home runs and six doubles already, and he's struck out only nine times. When he's been in the lineup, Ivan Herrera has been the spark plug for the offense this year.

Moving Herrera up to the #4 spot in the batting order would put him squarely behind Lars Nootbaar, Masyn Winn, and Brendan Donovan, three hitters who could all hit leadoff in any other lineup. Those three have a combined .375 on-base percentage. There's a strong chance that at least one of them is on base when Herrera comes up to bat at any point in the game. He is the most likely hitter in the lineup now to drive them in and start the game off with a lead.

Herrera is also seeing 4.28 pitches per plate appearance this year, one of the best figures on the team. His patience paired with his other-worldly power to start the year make him an ideal cleanup hitter. His energy, approach, and results are infectious.

Nolan Arenado is in the back half of his career, so shifting him down in the lineup is logical. Arenado may have only a .699 OPS from this spot in the lineup for his career, but Herrera has shown that he provides more value higher in the lineup.

Ivan Herrera is the Cardinals' best hitter right now. Herrera, sitting in the sixth spot in the batting order, isn't taking advantage of his offensive prowess. If Oliver Marmol wants to take the offense to a new level and unlock something out of his hitters, he should bump Herrera up a couple of spots in the lineup. This allows Herrera to capitalize on the hitters ahead of him in the lineup.