Prediction Number 2
“Kyle Schwarber will have a higher batting average than .218, the figure he posted in 2022.” As suggested in my winter piece, some preseason predictions are inevitably “wrong, wrong, wrong.”
However, in this case, does it matter? While Schwarber did not very often take advantage of the new shift rules, and ended up hitting .197, he also hit 47 home runs, drove in 104, and along the way, walked 126 times. All these figures are improvements over his 2022 figures. The guy is truly Dave Kingman 2.0.
But better.
Prediction Number 3
“Former Phillies second baseman, Jean Segura, [in January] a Miami Marlin, will hit at least .310 against Philadelphia.”
This matter was complicated by the fact that Segura, an important member of 2022 NL Champion Phils, was traded by Miami to Cleveland, released immediately, and then decided to take a vacation. Reportedly, the infielder will attempt to find another team to sign him as a free agent next season.
So, Segura had only 28 at-bats against the Phillies in seven games, and eight hits. This works out to .286 (better than his .219 seasonal average) but not .310. He did hit .500 against Philly during a three-game series in July, which does not erase this error.