Jonathan Villar hit .298 in the first half of the season. Couple that with his on-base skills, and the Milwaukee Brewers had a lead-off hitter reaching base 38% of the time.
It was a great start to the year, but it should have come with some warning signs. Or one, specifically. Villar’s batting average on balls in play (BABIP) was a sky-high .410 during that time.
For reference, the highest qualified BABIP in 2016 belongs to DJ LeMahieu at .389, while Villar sits at fourth, with a .379 BABIP. Before we get more into that, let’s run through BABIP one more time.