Grading the Brewers: Jean Segura

In the month of October, we here at Reviewing the Brew will be grading one Milwaukee Brewer a day. For today’s grading, shortstop Jean Segura will lead things off for once and what a season it was for the young and rising star.

Segura rose to the occasion in 2013, so what type of grade will that land him?

Jean Segura had a season to remember in 2013. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada

For the 23 year-old, it’s a shame 2013 wasn’t his rookie season because we could all expect him to be in that race. Instead, Segura beat the dreaded sophomore slump after his arrival to the big leagues in 2012 which started in Anaheim, but ended in Milwaukee. Not only did Segura prove himself out at shortstop by being a candidate for the Brewers’ MVP, but he was also an All-Star this season alongside teammate Carlos Gomez.

The biggest positive for Segura was that he started off the season on fire, but that tailed off once August hit. Sure, his August numbers nodded off a bit from the prior months, but with the production he put forth in 2013, it’d be wrong of any fan to complain. Segura was tearing the cover off the ball with an average of .367 in the month of April, but crashed down to earth in August as his average that month was .252.

As an offensive force in the line-up, Segura really fell into the groove of the Milwaukee way, a team known for their batters. This season, Segura hit a sharp .294 with 12 homers, 49 RBIs and scored 79 runs. Of course, hitting primarily as the second hitter in the line-up, it’s not surprising that he nor Norichika Aoki drove in a lot of runs, but Segura was definitely a monster on the base paths.

In 2013, Segura stole a total of 44 bases, just second in the National League behind Eric Young Jr. and fourth overall. However, Segura didn’t walk much, only 25 times in 588 at-bats or four percent of the time. That said, he still managed a decent on-base percentage of .329 as he led the Brewers in hits with 173.

Segura isn’t exactly anything to write home about defensively, but he does make his share of nice stops. He held a fielding percentage of .974 this season, but his UZR (ultimate zone rating) of -1.1 shows us at the moment he’s nothing more than an average fielder. Still, that isn’t to cut Segura down as 2013 was his first full year of hopefully many to come as the Brewers’ shortstop.

As a matter of fact, Segura played so well this season that the Brew Crew had already been talking about giving him a contract extension. Now while Segura, his agent and the Brewers haven’t exactly sat down and formulated a contract out, if he continues to play like this, it’s only a matter of time before he’ll extended.

My grade for Segura: A–

Looking at the rest of the players, Segura was probably one of the easiest candidates to grade from the 2013 season. He’s a great hitter with tremendous speed, but does have a glove that requires some work, though it doesn’t take away from him. Segura definitely earned the A- in my book. While some of you may think he deserved more, or maybe even less, think about it this way, Segura was great in the first few months, but fatigue (understandably) got the best of him in the second half. No worries though as Segura will look to continue on this way in 2014.

Stats courtesy of FanGraphs.