2 Reds lineup changes David Bell got right, 2 corrections that still need to made

When your team is struggling as badly as the Cincinnati Reds, a manager will try darn-near anything in order to right the ship. Reds fans saw David Bell hurl a chair in the dugout earlier this week and his team got a win. It's mildly surprising that no more chairs have been broken since.

But Bell has made several lineup changes over the past few weeks in an effort to get the most out of his underperforming lineup. A few of the adjustments that Bell has made certainly make sense, but there's still a few alterations the Reds skipper needs to make in order to get the most out of his languishing bats.

Inserting Jacob Hurtubise as the Reds leadoff hitter was a great decision

The Reds have been lacking a leadoff hitter all season. Bell has tried Jonathan India and Will Benson, but neither had any measurable success hitting atop the Cincinnati batting order. With TJ Friedl on the injured list, Jacob Hurtubise is the correct choice.

Hurtubise is a high-contact hitter who rarely strikeouts and has plenty of speed. He's the perfect player to put on base ahead of Elly De La Cruz in the Reds lineup. Of course, when there's a left-hander on the mound, leadoff duty will likely fall to Stuart Fairchild. But when a right-handed pitcher is on the bump, Hurtubise should be hitting first in the Reds lineup.

David Bell needs to remove Mike Ford from the Reds lineup

It's time for all of Reds Country to come together and admit that Mike Ford is little more than a stopgap option for the Reds at this time. With Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the IL, it's fine to plug Ford into the lineup from time to time — only against left-handed pitchers — but no higher than No. 7 on the lineup card.

Ford is a pop fly machine. It seems as if half of his at-bats end with a pop out to the shortstop or into foul territory where the first baseman inevitably secures the out. Ford was a good story in spring training, but he has no business in the Reds everyday lineup.

Moving Jeimer Candelario up in the Reds batting order has worked

The Reds are finally starting to get their money's worth with the recent performances from free agent signee Jeimer Candelario. The power is still lacking, but Candelario has greatly reduced his strikeout rate from earlier this season.

Bell has bumped Candelario all the way up to No. 3 in the batting order. Slotting Candelario behind De La Cruz gives the electric Reds' shortstop a high-contact hitter who can put the ball in play, allowing him to use his speed to his advantage. Hopefully the power will come around as well. Since May 14th, Candelario has a .471 slugging percentage, so perhaps a power surge in on its way.

David Bell need to get Tyler Stephenson into Reds lineup with more regularity

Playing catcher is no easy task. In fact, last season, the Reds carried three catchers for more than half the season. But Bell doesn't have that luxury this season with the duo of Tyler Stephenson and Luke Maile. While giving Stephenson adequate rest is important, he's been the Reds best hitter for the last few weeks.

Bell has to find ways to get Stephenson's bat into the lineup with more regularity — be it as the team's starting catcher or designated hitter. Maile still needs to get reps, but maybe once every five days rather than once every three would be a better rotation.

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