Eye Black

I agree TLB, I think ranking his hit tool was the most difficult to do objectively, especially given the rate at which he is getting on base currently. My ranking of his hit tool probably reflects the one area where I interjected more of what I want him to become than what he actually is currently. After last night's game Baseball Reference now has Segura at a 1.4 WAR through 18 games. At that rate (granted it is unsustainable) he would post a 12 WAR season over a 160 games. He won't maintain that rate, but if he is a 5-6 win player this season that would be pretty incredible.

For Jean Segura (and Brewers fans) the future seems promising. I find myself mesmerized by all the ways Jean Segura adds value throughout a baseball game. Recently I have been trying to look past my man-crush on Segura to determine what the realistic expectations should be relative to his overall skill set. I realize it's best to temper excitement at this point given he is so early on in his career, but I still find myself struck with visions of Segura as a perennial All-Star and a key contributor to both the top of the lineup and middle of the order for years to come. I am trying to remain as objective as possible when evaluating Segura, but this is admittedly a difficult task given my escalating affection for watching him play baseball everyday. Before discussing some of his specific talents, it is worth reviewing just how remarkable the start to his 2013 season has been. Segura has played 17 games this season (prior to Tuesday's game) and Baseball-Reference has him valued at a 1.2 WAR already. One more time, a 1.2 WAR through 17 freaking games! Considering preseason projections had him in the 1.7-2.9 WAR range for the entire season, it certainly looks as though he is going to far exceed expectations. The law of averages say he will regress as this season proceeds (a .400 BABIP isn't likely sustainable), but even a notch below his current production levels (.406 OBP and .484 SLG) make an impressive offensive player. I am curious to hear others would assess his abilities and tool. He does many things well, but I took a stab at this exercise from the standpoint summarizing my own unqualified evaluation while ranking each of his tools. I tried to remain objective, but it is certainly open for plenty of debate. #5: Power - Thus far Segura's power has been on display more in the form of gap doubles then the homerun ball. I know some are predicting more power as he ages, which seems reasonable, but I have a hard time picturing him as a guy who will ever hit much beyond 10-15 HRs in a season. Eclipsing 35 doubles in future seasons seems more likely. He obviously has decent power for his size, but relative the his other athletic skills, power will probably remain the least valuable part of his game. #4: Fielding - This was my biggest concern regarding Segura given many didn't project him to posses the fielding ability to stick at SS long-term. So far he has shown an aptitude to field at the SS position beyond anything I envisioned. He seems very comfortable at SS and has shown extremely quick reaction time and solid range this year. He made a tremendous backhanded stab going to his right in tonights 8th inning. He has only made one error so far this season. Being young probably benefits him in terms of fielding agility and I have to believe he is going to stay a SS for the majority if his career. If he does ultimately move positions he could be a stellar 2B, even a potential gold glove defender. #3: Arm - I ranked Arm strength/accuracy as his 3rd best tool probably more as a flaw of my ability to accurately evaluate arm strength then anything else. He has thrown the ball very well this season, but I have a tough time ranking it above some of his other attributes at this point. He does seem to throw (or whip) the ball across the diamond with a maximum amount of effort much of the time compared to other SS who appear to throw with more fluid ease. The end result however is he throws the ball very hard and accurate, which seems like a pretty good combination. I assume his arm strength is somewhere between average to above average overall, but would appreciate others feedback. #2: Speed - Between racking up infield singles and stealing bases (including first) it is apparent Segura has above average speed. As is well documented, speed certainly depreciates over time, but he has a number of year before he is likely to significantly drop-off in that department. He doesn't have speed the caliber of a Billy Hamilton obviously, but unlike Hamilton who seems like somewhat of a one trick pony, Segura's above average speed helps complement the other strengths of his game. #1: Hit - Segura's hit tool seems extremely advanced for a 23 year old who never played a game at AAA. He has a knack for making contact, and even when down in the count I have confidence he will put something in play. It seems Segura could eventually display a 70 grade hit tool on the 80 scouting scale. I believe strongly that his ability to make good contact and hit line drives, but also beat out balls well placed in the infield give him a chance to be an elite overall hitter. Intangibles - This is probably cliche, but Segura displays so much of whatever "it" is. He seems like the kind of baseball player I would picture myself to be if given an ungodly amount of physical talent. By this I mean he doesn't rely on talent alone (see Starlin Casto) but seems to couple it with great amounts of effort, hustle, and desire. I think Jason Parks and Kevin Goldstein would summarize it as "want". Regardless of what "it" is, it certainly makes me warm and fuzzy about the game of baseball every time I watch him play and I can't wait for more!

It's times like these that I think it is important to ask, "What Would Ronnie Lott Do?"

Tough thing is even if Lohse can pitch with a broken pinky, it probably isn't safe for him to bat. I won't be surprised if this turns out to be a significant injury.

Of course that just happened. At least it was Lohse's left hand, 2 weeks ago it would have definitely been his right hand.

WP kills Yuni's Grand Slam opportunity!

From the MLB ground rules by park pertaining to Petco... Left Field: Ball strikes east (right) side of the Western Metal Supply Building: Home Run. Ball strikes anything attached to east (right) side of the Western Metal Supply Building: Home Run. Ball strikes south (left) side of the Western Metal Supply Building: Foul Ball.

Inexcusable on Gonzalez part. I am mostly tolerant of physical mistakes, they happen. I have no tolerance for a complete lack of effort, just pathetic.

So even when you can review it you don't use it?

Great start, not to mention if they can maintain a big lead I might actually get to bed before midnight!

In a battle of Dave Duncan disciples, all bets are off!

And he just took a nasty flip over the fence down the left field line. Ouch, welcome to A Ball indeed!

Yet another Brewers win... http://www.twirlit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/anchorman-celebration-gif.gif

Still dumbfounded from last inning, that had to be ruled incorrectly.

Umm...wow.

1-2-3 inning... Please!

So I have that third inning on the DVR and I plan to use it as my serenity on days the offense gets shutdown this season.

Fringe Average (I could have been happy listening to Up and In until the end of time) Fangraphs Audio Baseball America Effectively Wild CBS Eye on Baseball Rumors ESPN Fantasy Focus (Football version only) Freakonomics Radio View from Bernie's Chalet Bernie's Crew Mohr Stories / Jay Mohr Sports I used to listen to ESPN Baseball Today, but don't really enjoy the ESPN Baseball Tonight version.

[sarcasm]Looks like Luc has also overcome his personal demons.[/sarcasm] Luc claimed it was a mechanical issue, but at least BF.net knows better. Demons finally exorcised!

All is right in the Universe... Ok, not really, but nice to salvage a win out of the series.

Putting the winning run on base seems risky.

ONE. MORE. OUT.

Lucroy...thank you

Just kidding.

I really like Aoki at the plate in this situation.