The Cubs have a major flaw in the middle of their batting order right now

Given the number of key pitching injuries the Chicago Cubs have weathered through the first third of the season, the team's 36-22 record is a testament to the team's offensive performance as we enter June. Breakout performances from Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong have been the major storylines, along with Kyle Tucker's big bat, but one early standout was veteran catcher Carson Kelly.

Kelly signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal last winter, solidifying the catching position on the North Side, creating a tandem of Kelly and Miguel Amaya, who was wildly inconsistent last season. They say you never get a second chance at a first impression, and Kelly made the most of it, going on a historic tear in April, hitting .360 with seven homers, playing a key role in the lineup.

Given that level of performance, he quickly worked his way up the batting order and has seen a good number of at-bats hitting clean-up for manager Craig Counsell. The only problem is he's come crashing back to earth in the month of May, batting only .210 with three RBI.

It's time to move Carson Kelly down in the Cubs' batting order

Kelly has batted fourth or fifth in all but one of his starts in May - but, like I said, the results just haven't been there. The time is long overdue for him to move back down in the order, with manager Craig Counsell instead prioritizing more middle-of-the-order at-bats for Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson.

PCA is putting his name under serious MVP consideration and makes more sense than Kelly batting cleanup. You know Ian Happ is leading off and Kyle Tucker needs to hit second or third to maximize the number of plate appearances he gets. Seiya Suzuki is locked in a race for the MLB lead for runs batted in and has made a ton of sense batting third.

There are a few different ways you can chart out the top half of the Cubs' batting order, but none of them should have Kelly batting fourth. The earth-shattering start he got off to was amazing, but that's a thing of the past and Chicago needs to look to make moves and breathe life into an offense that's managed five or more runs just once over its last seven games.

That may seem like I'm asking for a lot, but given the starting rotation's struggles, the Cubs need the bats to keep hanging crooked numbers or they could see their lead in the division shrink quickly.