Impressions of Jean Segura

[Baldkin]

Could someone smarter than me explain why Segura was at 2B in the first place? Was he blocked by a better shortstop prospect? Because usually teams want their middle infield prospects with the arm for it to play SS until they prove they can't.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aybarer01.shtml

 

Erick Aybar - Signed through 2016.

[HiAndTight]

On a different note, I would really like to see us pick up a really strong utility infielder that can work into the lineup 4-5 days a week to give everyone a rest on a regular basis and take some pressure off Segura.

 

Like Bianchi?

 

 

That was my very thought. He gets dismissed a bit on here for some reason, but we're talking about a guy who's a pretty respectable defender from the eye test, and he's got a decent bat...

 

I also agree with "SenatorShriv," in that I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with Segura starting out the season at Short for us next year rather than re-signing Alex Gonzalez for example to a 1 yr 2 million dollar type deal.

 

All the sudden SS looks like a good position moving forward, as does our starting pitching.

[HiAndTight]

Could someone smarter than me explain why Segura was at 2B in the first place? Was he blocked by a better shortstop prospect? Because usually teams want their middle infield prospects with the arm for it to play SS until they prove they can't.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aybarer01.shtml

 

Erick Aybar - Signed through 2016.

 

 

Except Segura was moved to SS before Aybar signed his extension(earlier this year) and was actually playing 2nd base when Aybar was entering his arbitration years, and the Angels had a good player, Howie Kendrick locked up BEFORE Aybar at 2nd base. Both where set to become FA's after this year, so my guess is that is the reason he was moved TO SS, not the other way around.

 

I don't think anyone has a real answer for this question though other than perhaps he simply matured and his arm got stronger and became a more viable option at short.

 

We don't know what he looked like at 18-19 years old when he was a bit injury prone and playing 2nd base.

[DoubleSwitch]

I think the knock on him was that he was undersized. He's only listed at 5'10" 165, and I'm sure he's put on some weight in the past year or so since they moved him to short. As far as I can tell he has the arm and the range to play short so I couldn't care less how much he weighs.

[endaround]

I think that even within the time he's been up in Milwaukee, he's taken a big step forward. He's much more patient at the plate, and the results are starting to show.

 

Segura has more power than anybody realizes. His ceiling is quite high. I think he's a guy that could be a .290-.300 hitter with 15-20 HR a season, and 40-50 stolen bases. If he can keep working on the strikeouts, and up his walk rate a bit more, the sky's the limit. Defensively he's pretty good. Not in the same league as Escobar, but he's got a quick release, and pretty good range.

 

I am very excited about Jean's future.

 

Escobar's UZR this year is -11.1 giving him a UZR/150 of 0.5 for his career. I'm not sure what Escobar's league actually is. His errors are up and his range is down. I wonder if he has the Starlin Castro disease of just not caring at times?

[xisxisxis]

yeah because UZR has been proven to be 100% accurate.....

[brewcrewdue80]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/184639201.html

 

Seems he just won the batting title in Dominican Winter League. I really am comfortable with this kid at SS for the years to come!

[monty57]

I really am comfortable with this kid at SS for the years to come!

 

I fully expect Segura will sign a "Lucroy-style" extension (or at least Melvin will offer it), so hopefully there will be eight "years to come" as opposed to the normal six.

[brewcrewdue80]

I did read the comments below the article and a lot was brushing this achievement off as yeah leading the DWL with that talent pool is something to crown as special and think Segura is the next big thing? Harsh yes. Another said something like I love the trade for Segura having a batting title contending SS is awesome! Ok. That's a far reach he didn't bat .400 even .333.

 

All I'm taking from this is of all the players who batted in the DWL he lead them over 35games in batting avg. had 2HRs, 11SBs. Think 155games of 10/40? And that he should be able to maintain around my .268BA +/- 10 pts. I look for at the plate. That's LF,C,SS now locked in place for next 5seasons minimum. All to be on Team friendly contracts! It's a great start to keep building around!

[jerichoholicninja]

Not to take anything away from the achievement but what's the overall talent level of the DWL? A ball, maybe?

[brewcrewdue80]

Not to take anything away from the achievement but what's the overall talent level of the DWL? A ball, maybe?

 

Yes I get it. Like the other comments that were below the story. But, Segura at least led the league in Batting Avg, 2nd in SBs. That's a much better indication of his ability than if he batted around .215.

 

Looking up Prospects in that League:Pitchers

Julio Teheran,Samuel Deduno,Randall Delgado,Jenrry Mejia,Pedro Strop,

Batters:

Profar,Oscar Tavares,Junior Lake,Marcell Ozuna,Darin Ruf,Wilmer Flores,Mauro Gomez,Starling Marte,Leonys Martin,Mike Olt,Miquel Sano,

 

As well as a few old MLBs

Manny Ramirez, Fernando Tatis,Vladimir Guerrero,Carlos Santana,Erick Aybar,Hanley Ramirez,Nelson Cruz,Dee Gordon,

 

So it's not all fluff.

[logan82]

Not all fluff but it is a lot of fluff and 35 games. All you need is one good hot streak and you can have amazing stats. His batting title there means about as much as his batting stats with the Brewers last year. Not much.

[Ennder]

I'd rather he put up good stats than bad ones wherever he is playing though. Sure you can't draw huge conclusions from it but if your the GM and he seems to be your only option as a starter at a position you have to be happy with his results. To me the most important part is that he put up a .379 OBP while hitting .324. If he can have at least a .050 separation from his AVG and his OBP it is a good sign. My big worry is he isn't going to carry a high enough OBP. A .070 separation would make me a lot happier but a player like him needs to keep at least .050 and they have to consistently hit .275 or higher to really carry much value.

[logan82]

Most of his value is going to be in the position he plays while playing at least average defense. Anything from the bat will be a plus especially after the crap we have had there the last couple years(outside of Gonzalez). It is up to our manager to remember he is not a top of the order hitter. SS isn't exactly a strong position around the league.

[brewcrewdue80]

I'd rather he put up good stats than bad ones wherever he is playing though. Sure you can't draw huge conclusions from it but if your the GM and he seems to be your only option as a starter at a position you have to be happy with his results. To me the most important part is that he put up a .379 OBP while hitting .324. If he can have at least a .050 separation from his AVG and his OBP it is a good sign. My big worry is he isn't going to carry a high enough OBP. A .070 separation would make me a lot happier but a player like him needs to keep at least .050 and they have to consistently hit .275 or higher to really carry much value.

 

That's all I'm saying is he put up good stats. Meanwhile Profar batted under .230, Olt .250 nothing awful in a short span but we're dissing the competition Segura faced meanwhile these Reknowned prospects didn't blow away the same competition and actually could say didn't meet expectations.

 

Most of his value is going to be in the position he plays while playing at least average defense. Anything from the bat will be a plus especially after the crap we have had there the last couple years(outside of Gonzalez). It is up to our manager to remember he is not a top of the order hitter. SS isn't exactly a strong position around the league.

 

That's also what I'm pointing out. He plays SS and it would at least appear, for a position you don't expect much from with that bat, to provide some value with his bat for 6years to come. It's good to feel secure at a position with weak hitting stat expectations to likely exceed those for 6seasons.

 

As the Brewers stand now, without a stud 1b in the mix, you hope to find a make-up in offensive value at another position not expected to provide value.

That's what I love about the Brewers lineup currently the mix of bats/speed/power all fit together. It's not heavy in just one way (low BA all power/high BA no power, No power lots of speed)

[TheCrew07]

I'm not trying to diminish the accomplishment at all, but the winter leagues are roughly equivalent to AA. I'd much rather none of our players ever participated in the winter leagues and focused on strength & flexibility in the off-season while taking a mental break from baseball.

 

It's nice that he hit so well, it's certainly better than not hitting at all, but it's also not any kind of indicator of future MLB success. He jumped right from AA to MLB, I think he performed exactly as he should have, starting slow and then getting comfortable by the end of the season. The book on him has always been that he could hit, the question with him is going to be if he fields well enough to be a MLB SS long-term. It certainly would be nice to replace Hardy/Escobar with another legitimate young MLB SS.

 

Segura is definitely toolsy, and lord knows I like me some toolsy players, but we'll have to see how he progresses as a SS over the next year or so before we start claiming WOAH SOLVVD.

[CheezWizHed]

before we start claiming WOAH SOLVVD.

 

What are you talking about? We have great catching talent and depth...

[502 to Right]

I'd much rather none of our players ever participated in the winter leagues and focused on strength & flexibility in the off-season while taking a mental break from baseball.

 

...

 

The book on him has always been that he could hit, the question with him is going to be if he fields well enough to be a MLB SS long-term.

 

 

His fielding is exactly why it's a good thing he played in the DWL. He needs to work on his defense and playing actual meaningful games is the best way to become a better fielder. This is especially true given that he only recently converted to shortstop.

[TheCrew07]

I don't think it's safe to assume just because he's playing that he's improving defensively. I have much more confidence in what would happen stateside with a MLB schedule than whatever daily schedule they have in any of the winter leagues. To me that's the same as making an assumption about minor leaguers improving just because they are playing, unfortunately it's not that simple.

[PrinceFielderx1]

The Brewers are playing him in winter ball, because they want him to gain experience. Lots of it. I don't think they really care about the competition he's playing, but rather care that the more games he plays in the better he will be. The worst thing for Segura is to take the winter off. I think it's really this simple.

[Menace II Sobriety]

According to this article the Brewers wanted to scale back his playing time, but he is under contract and have no say over how he is used.

 

 

http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121212&content_id=40629368&vkey=news_mil&c_id=mil

[bobbledude25]

He's going to be a stud and a fixture at ss for a long time

[RobDeer 45]

I'm glad he's getting game experience but I hope he doesn't get too burnt out. I just hope the kid continues to grow and is middle of the road defensively and above average offensively. It doesn't take a whole lot to do that on the offense side with the lack of bats at that position currently. I guess I'm just looking for above average out of him and I'll be happy.

[brewcrewdue80]

For the position he plays SS or 2b at some point. Batting .270+ with the ability to steal 20+ a season is great to me.

 

I have this lineup expectation for top to bottom and having a guy who bats to that line or better fills one of the 1/2 lineup spots. Add that its from the 2b/SS position where thats what you feel is great production from that position is another plus. It's why I like Segura so much! And not like Weeks as much.

[Ennder]

I highly doubt Segura is ever as good of a hitter as Weeks. He would have to consistently hit .300 to pull that off with his plate approach... that or change approaches.