The Philadelphia Phillies have run the gauntlet of the National League playoffs and reached the World Series. They will need all the advantages they can get against a strong Houston Astros team. One way to do this is to maximize the lineup by making a tweak involving their best hitter, Bryce Harper.

According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Phillies have plenty of reasons to move Harper to the third spot in the lineup.

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“It all has to do with the Astros bullpen and their lack of a lot of left-handed relievers there,” Morosi explained. “Rob Thomson acknowledged this publicly in speaking with reporters that moving Harper up to the third spot to stagger the lefties is something he's giving a lot of consideration to doing…I think there's a lot of reasons why the Phillies could do that. Obviously, Harper has a lot of experience. He's batted higher in the past and he's certainly had success doing that.”

Harper has usually batted cleanup behind Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto. Morosi notes that Realmuto would take the cleanup spot if Thomson chooses to make a switch. The Astros' tremendous pitching staff has only featured one lefty (starter Framber Valdez) in the playoffs so far. Making sure the lineup is balanced and potentially getting Harper more looks at the plate would be huge for Philly.

The Astros are very talented but the Phillies have some advantages on their side, too. Bryce Harper is the ultimate one, as he has been absolutely raking this postseason.