Jul 1, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Cody Asche (25) reacts to an initial pick off call at first base before being overturned on a challenge against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. The Philadelphia Phillies won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Cody Asche has been on a tear for the Philadelphia Phillies lately but at 26 years old does he have a long-term role with the team?

Cody Asche has been an enigma for the Philadelphia Phillies. When he and Darin Ruf came up it seemed like they would be impact bats for the team but it never materialized. Asche’s .249/.304/.400 career slash line shows the difficulty that he’s had with putting a bat onto a baseball since coming to the big leagues.

This season, Asche has missed significant time with a right oblique injury and no one stepped up to take the left field job. Phillies left fielders ranked 27th in the majors in both batting average (.208) and OPS (.603) prior to Asche’s return to the majors. That gave Asche his third chance to win an everyday job with the Philadelphia Phillies.

So far he has taken advantage of that chance by posting a slash line of .287/.337/.483 since returning. While it’s a small sample size of 28 games played and 95 plate appearances those numbers have immensely helped the Phillies offense. This hasn’t been lost on Pete Mackanin who has been batting Asche third since his return.

Asche’s return has also coincided with a resurgence from Maikel Franco because it offers him some protection in the lineup. Since Asche’s return, Franco has gotten back to the production that he showed last year and they’ve combined to form a solid heart of the order for the Phillies.

When asked about how long he plans to keep Asche in the three hole in the lineup Pete Mackanin said, “As long as he’s hitting. Asche is swinging the bat extremely well, as well as I’ve ever seen him swing it and that’s why I have him in the three spot.” So he’s going to ride the hot hand as long as he can and considering the struggles that the Philadelphia Phillies offense has faced it makes sense for Mackanin to fill out a lineup card this way.

In a way, Asche’s injury may have been a blessing in disguise because he was able to work on holes in his swing while in Florida rehabbing. When he returned to the Phillies Asche told Philly.com “It’s pretty cut and dried you’ve got to earn everything that I want. There is no silver platter here with my name on it. I just go earn it, and that’s what I am here to do.”

So far he’s earned every bit of playing time that he has gotten and then some. If Asche can keep up his levels of production he may be able to play himself into the Philadelphia Phillies future plans. So far his improvement looks sustainable and while there will be a logjam in the outfield in the future for the team a proven commodity will get the first crack at the lineup over a prospect.

If Asche can keep it up look out Philadelphia.