Best/Worst Jays WHAV: Rasmus & Escobar

Two Toronto Blue Jays full-time players and their WHAV.

 

“Inside Edge provides a statistic called “Well Hit Average (WHAV),” which measures the percentage of at-bats in which a hitter made solid contact.” Source

 

WHAV Leader: Colby Rasmus

Colby’s .292 Well-Hit-Average (WHAV) not only leads the Blue Jays but is first amongst all major league players (with qualifying AB’s). First!

This is in glaring contrast to his reasonable .276 BABIP. In-fact, Colby is the only member of the MLB’s top 10 in well-hit-average to have a BABIP that is LOWER than his WHAV.

 

Player BABIP WHAV
Colby Rasmus (TOR) 0.276 0.292
Carlos Ruiz (PHI) 0.37 0.289
Joey Votto (CIN) 0.428 0.286
Jed Lowrie (HOU) 0.294 0.284
David Ortiz (BOS) 0.308 0.281
Andrew McCutchen (PIT) 0.365 0.28
Robinson Cano (NYY) 0.369 0.278
Miguel Cabrera (DET) 0.328 0.27
Adrian Beltre (TEX) 0.304 0.27
Elvis Andrus (TEX) 0.327 0.267

 

Things have been looking up for Rasmus over the past few weeks, and his stat line finally appears to be catching up to his well-hit-average.

Most Disappointing WHAV : Yunel Escobar

Yunel Escobar has the Jays most disappointing WHAV, clocking in at only .185 this season.

However, Yunel historically struggles with WHAV, as he posted only a .197 mark last season while hitting .276 with a .300 BABIP.

The lower WHAV marks tend to make sense, as Yunel earns many ‘loopy’ singles over the infielders heads that drop into the outfield for base knocks.

Although, the lower mark in 2012 could partially be attributed to his extremely high GB rate, which is 63% and 3rd overall amongst qualifying MLB batters.

This is translating into a very poor .323 SLG percentage. And to be honest, this rate is propped up due to some well placed doubles down the lines.

Escobar 2012 Double Chart (06/13/12)

I don’t know if there is an immediate fix. Yunel, at least statistically, seems to have a Vernon Wells-esq ability to produce one season and then struggle the next. For now I’d like to see Escobar drop down to the #8 slot.

What do you think?
Do stats such as BABIP and WHAV matter in your eyes or do you focus more upon wOBA and/or bottom line production?

 

Notes: Stats via ESPN True Media, FanGraphs, Image via Ebay of Colby Rasmus Signed Bat

 

 

 

 

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