Phillies: Three Reasonable Expectations for Jean Segura this season

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 26: Jean Segura #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action against the Minnesota Twins during a Grapefruit League spring training game at Hammond Stadium on February 26, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 26: Jean Segura #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action against the Minnesota Twins during a Grapefruit League spring training game at Hammond Stadium on February 26, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 05: Jean Segura #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies plays during a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park June 5, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 05: Jean Segura #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies plays during a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park June 5, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

Segura will have a batting average of .280 or better

While his fielding could use some improvement, there’s no doubt that Segura makes up for it on the offensive end.

Segura batted .280 last season, making it five of seven full seasons in the majors where he’s hit .280 or better, the exceptions being 2014 and 2015 with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Those lower batting averages came after a 2013 season where he hit .294 and appeared in the All-Star Game.

In 2016, he made huge improvements, batting .319 and leading the National League with 203 hits and 637 at-bats with the Arizona Diamondbacks. That followed a 2015 season with a .257 batting average with Milwaukee.

Since then, Segura’s hitting has remained stellar. He batted .300 in 2017 for the Seattle Mariners and .304 the following year, while making his second All-Star Game.

Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies /

Philadelphia Phillies

The fact that his batting average was down last year with the Phillies does not take away from the fact that he was one of the team’s best hitters.

Segura’s .280 batting average was second only to Corey Dickerson’s .293, with Dickerson only appearing in 34 games with the Phillies.

Segura was second to Cesar Hernandez in hits (171 to 161), with Hernandez appearing in 17 more games. Segura led the team in doubles (37) and tied with Scott Kingery for the second-most triples (four triples to Rhys Hoskins’ five).

Overall, Segura is one of the MLB’s best hitters since 2016.

He has a .301 batting average over the last four seasons, ranking 24th among MLB players with 200 or more plate appearances.

Given his consistent yearly batting averages and place amongst Phillies hitters last season, it’s reasonable to expect that Segura will match or top his .280 batting average this year.