Can Jose Iglesias Maintain His Hot Start at the Plate?

Jose Iglesias has been on an absolute tear to begin the 2015 MLB season.

Even after going 0-for-4 Tuesday against the New York Yankees, the Tigers shortstop is hitting a cool .400 for the season.

Iglesias’ average after 14 games is higher than American League studs Mike Trout, Jose Altuve, Robinson Cano and Victor Martinez. Only the red-hot Adam Jones (.442) has a higher batting average than Iglesias in the AL.

Where did this come from?

The 25-year-old has snuck up on us this year after missing the entire 2014 campaign due to stress fractures in both shins.

It almost feels like he’s a newcomer to the league after such a lengthy layoff. But Iglesias’ MLB debut for the Red Sox was four seasons ago now, two years prior to emerging as an everyday player.

It’s easy to forget his impressive 2013 season. Splitting time between Boston and Detroit, Iglesias finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.

While his glove grabbed (excuse the pun) most of the attention that season, Iglesias quietly had a fine year with the bat. Slapping line drives into outfield gaps and legging out infield hits helped him compile an impressive .303/.349/.386 slash line.

The Cuban infielder seems to have picked things up right from where he left off, albeit with a full season in between.

He began the year by notching a pair of hits on Opening Day against the Twins. Two days later, he doubled that output with another four singles.

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Things have not really slowed down since. Iglesias has been a constant pest to all opposing pitchers. His game-winning hit against Chicago on April 17 also shows that he has a sense for timeliness.

Iglesias seems to be seeing pitches like they’re soccer balls right now. According to FanGraphs, his line-drive percentage (LD%) is 23.8. Note that last year’s MLB average was 20.8.

The second-year man is also demonstrating phenomenal patience and judgment. His current O-Swing percentage (swings made at pitches outside of the strike zone) is just 29.8 percent.

As for when he gets a strike, he’s not missing. Prior to the April 21 Yankees game, Iglesias had made contact with every pitch he swung at in the zone (Z-Contact). A couple of whiffs now still has him at an impressive 95.6 percent.

Seeing balls like watermelons seems like a more apt description.

Iglesias is not just a guy with good hand-eye coordination. He is also a good hitter, plain and simple. His spray chart shows that he can hit the ball to all fields.

Speaking to Chris Vannini of MLB.com, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus discussed Iglesias’ ability to make contact and find gaps in the field.

"He's pretty good at getting the bat to the ball," Ausmus noted. "Even down 0-2, he's got a chance to put the ball in play. He's got a very simple approach. There's not a lot of movement involved with his setup and load to hit. He's pretty good at getting the bat there to find a hole."

Blinding speed is another dimension to Iglesias’ game. So far in 2015, he has converted 13.6 percent of his ground balls into hits (IFH%). This is right up there with Ichiro Suzuki’s IFH numbers back in his heyday. It is impressive stuff, especially considering that Iglesias is a right-handed hitter, which means a disadvantage of an extra step to first base compared to a left-handed hitter like Ichiro.

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

It begs the question: Can his hot hitting be sustained over the medium-to-long term?

Despite Iglesias doing so many things right, it is highly unlikely that he will keep raking at his current level.

It appears that Iglesias has also been benefiting from his fair share of luck. The shortstop’s BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is sitting at a lofty .429. To put that in perspective, the MLB average for BABIP in 2014 was .295.

It is plausible that Iglesias will hit above the MLB average for BABIP due to his ability to place the ball and speed. He did so in 2013 with a .356 mark.

However, his present average must descend at some point.

Why? Because history says so. According to FanGraphs, no player in the history of the game has ever had a BABIP greater than .380 (minimum 4000 career plate appearances).

Iglesias has been going through a phase where everything he touches turns to gold. That can’t last forever.

Defense is another factor. All teams the Tigers have played so far (Twins, Pirates, Indians, White Sox and Yankees) rank 20th or lower in the majors in defensive runs saved.

The defensive standards of Detroit’s opposition will inevitably improve. Unless Iglesias can control the ball like a British snooker player hitting balls wherever he wants, his average will ultimately drop over time.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Although Iglesias’ stay in the .400-average club will likely be short, he is showing that hitting over .300 as a rookie was no fluke.

The AL may have another serious competitor in the race for the batting title.

All stats in this article are courtesy of FanGraphs

Hit me up on Twitter: @jdunc1979