As we all know, a standard batting average in baseball comes very short of showing the complete picture of how a player is performing at the plate.
Take Phillies' shortstop Jean Segura for example. Segura has a .324 batting average so far this season, but to anyone that has watched the team's first eight games, it is clear that he isn't off to the best start.
His secondary average shows that.
Secondary average is a stat invented by Bill James, the man credited with starting the trend of using analytics in baseball years ago. Although the secondary average is not new, it is starting to pick up steam as a way to truly view what a player is giving his team at the plate. The secondary average gives more credit to things that matter -- extra base hits, walks, stealing bases -- as opposed to the simple batting average.
The formula for the secondary average is as follows.
You add up the following stats…
Doubles
Triples (x2)
Home Runs (x3)
Walks
Stolen Bases
…then divide that number by at-bats. For Segura, his secondary average — due to his low number of actual impact plays — is just .118. That is the lowest on the team among the regular starters for the first eight games. The fact he only has one walk is especially alarming. If you ranked the Phillies' hitters by regular averages, Segura would be third on the team, an alarming unfair representation of how the Phillies' hitters have peformed.
Here are the secondary averages for the Phillies' starting lineup, in order from best to worst.
Bryce Harper: .855 secondary average (.385 real average)
Maikel Franco: .800 secondary average (.320 real average)
Andrew McCutchen: .522 secondary average (.241 real average)
Rhys Hoskins: .543 secondary average (.346 real average)
Cesear Hernandez: .250 secondary average (.179 real average)
J.T. Realmuto: .296 secondary average (.185 real average)
Odubel Herrera: .200 secondary average (.300 real average)
Jean Segura: .118 secondary average (.324 real average)
As you can see, Harper, Franco, McCutchen and Hoskins are all having far better seasons than their batting average would indicate.
Realmuto, Herrera and Segura? Not so much.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
