Scott Bordow

azcentral sports

Let’s state the obvious first. Diamondbacks second baseman Jean Segura isn’t this good.

He’s not going to hit .407 the rest of the season. He’s not going to continue to hit three home runs every week, as he did the first week of the season. The last two seasons combined he hit 11 homers. And his OPS probably won’t remain at 1.317. Washington Nationals’ superstar Bryce Harper led the major leagues in OPS last year at 1.109.

So let’s call this what it is: A torrid start to the 2016 season for Segura.

“He’s been unbelievable so far,” first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said.

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But even if it can’t last there’s reason to believe that Segura, 26, can again be the player who made the National League All-Star team in 2013 for the Milwaukee Brewers rather than the player who struggled offensively each of the past two seasons. Credit his resurgence to a new-found peace of mind, a former Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants outfielder from the 1990s, and Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano.

Peace of mind

Segura’s world was shattered in July 2014 when his 9-month-old son Janniel died. He missed a week of the season, but when he returned and even through the 2015 season he found it difficult to focus on baseball.

“The last couple of years have been challenging,” he said. “I’ve been thinking too much about the difficult problem with family members. It’s tough, especially when you’re a young guy. You don’t know how to handle those situations.”

Segura still thinks about Janniel constantly but he also viewed the Jan. 30 trade to the Diamondbacks as a fresh start. A rebirth, he called it.

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“For me it’s a huge trade,” Segura said. “The confidence they have in believing in me that I would be the guy I was (three) years ago. That’s given me so much confidence and trust.”

Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said the organization believed a change of scenery might help Segura rediscover his ’13 form, when he hit .294 with 12 homers, 49 RBIs and 44 stolen bases.

“I knew he was a good player,” Hale said. “He was still a young guy and having known about the personal problems he had, losing a child, those things take time. I was really excited when we got him. I thought it was a sort of a under the radar move. Anywhere you look around in baseball sometimes it’s the second, third or fourth place you land that you figure it out.”

A new swing

For Segura, figuring things out included a change in his swing.

In the off-season Segura started working with Luis Mercedes, who played three seasons in the major leagues, starting with the Orioles in 1991 and ending with the Giants in 1993. Mercedes, now a hitting coach in the Dominican Republic, told Segura he needed to drop his hands in the set-up position.

Segura had been keeping his hands shoulder high, which resulted in a downward stroke that produced a lot of ground balls. Mercedes had Segura move his hands to waist-high level, giving him more of an uppercut swing.

The result: Segura’s ground ball percentage is 41.7 percent compared to 59 percent last year, and his fly ball percentage has increased from 24.2 percent in 2015 to 37.5 percent.

“I definitely see the change. I can attack the ball better,” Segura said. “I feel great at the plate.”

He’s also using the entire ballpark. Ten of his 11 hits have been to center or right field. Last year he pulled nearly as many hits (42) as he hit to the opposite field (49).

Why the change?

Robinson Cano and Segura have a common friend, and that friend asked Cano if he’d be willing to work with Segura in the off-season.

No problem, Cano replied.

“You know how it is when you have two bad seasons and you have the family issues he had the year before,” Cano said. “He had a rough two years in Milwaukee. I was just trying to help him get his confidence back. And you can see it the way he’s swinging now.”

One bit of advice Cano gave Segura was to use the whole field.

“We worked on where he had to hit in big situations, seeing where the pitch is and just going with the ball,” Cano said. “That’s what he’s been doing. He’s turned it around pretty good.”

Segura has called Cano an “angel” for helping him.

“He treat me like a brother and give me the support that nobody gave to me when I’m struggling,” Segura said. “It was huge for me. All I have right now is just for him. He’s a great man.”

Finally, Segura feels like his old self again.

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“This is who I am. This is the baseball I played when I came to the big leagues,” he said. “Right now they (the Diamondbacks) are giving me that opportunity to be that kind of guy again. Steal some bases and say, ‘Go hit. Do your thing.’ That’s great for me.”

It’s working out pretty well for the Diamondbacks, too.

Reach Bordow at scott.bordow@arizonarepublic.com or 602-448-8716. Follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/sBordow.

Tuesday’s game

Diamondbacks at Dodgers

When: 1:10 p.m.

Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles.

Pitchers: Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (0-1, 5.14) vs. Dodgers RHP Kenta Maeda (1-0, 0.00).

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KTAR-AM (620), KSUN-AM (1400).

Corbin gave up three home runs to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, spoiling what was an otherwise solid outing. … He gave up four runs in seven innings, walking none and striking out six. … He averaged 91.9 mph with his fastball. … Maeda was impressive in his first career big league start, tossing six scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres. He gave up just five hits, walked none and struck out four. … Maeda wasn’t overpowering; he averaged 90.4 mph with his fastball and mixed it with sliders, curveballs and change-ups.

Coming up

Wednesday: At Los Angeles, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Rubby De La Rosa (0-1, 12.46) vs. Dodgers LHP Alex Wood (0-1, 9.00).

Thursday: At Los Angeles, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (0-0, 3.00) vs. Dodgers RHP Ross Stripling (0-0, 1.23).

Friday: At San Diego, 7:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (0-2, 9.90) vs. Padres RHP James Shields (0-2, 4.85).

Up next

Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers update: After sweeping three games against San Diego – a series in which they outscored the Padres 25-0 – the Dodgers dropped three out of four to the Giants in San Francisco, including a loss on Sunday when they blew a 5-0 lead after the top of the first inning. Through seven games, the Dodgers have scored 42 runs; RF Yasiel Puig (10 for 26, .385), 1B Adrian Gonzalez (12 for 28, .429), SS Corey Seager (10 for 30, .333) and 2B Chase Utley (9 for 29, .310) are off to strong starts at the plate. The Dodgers have received quality starts from the rotation in five of their seven games. RHP Pedro Baez has struck out six in three innings in relief. LHP J.P. Howell has already given up six earned runs in three relief appearances.