January 18, 2018

The 2017 season was one that veteran designated hitter Victor Martinez would like to forget. He was plagued by injuries and heart-related health concerns, and played in just 107 games as a result. His countable stats were disappointing: 10 HR, 38 RBI, and a pedestrian .255 average. But a look at Martinez's peripheral numbers and batted ball stats show that a healthy Martinez can still bounce back in the coming season. For example, V-Mart's walk rate, strikeout rate, and hard contact rate all tracked with his career averages. Actually, his 39.9% hard contact rate was the best of his career. His line-drive numbers also stayed the same, yet his BABIP on the season fell to .280, more than 30 points off his career average. So what gives? It boils down to one major factor: a 10% swing from fly-balls to ground balls. Last year, Martinez posted a FB% of 34.2 (five points down from 2016) and a GB% of 42.1 (up five points from 2016). That's bad news for a hitter against whom most teams employ an aggressive shift, knowing that when Martinez puts the ball on the ground it's almost always to the pull field. If Martinez can do what lots of other hitters across the league are doing--lifting the ball into the air consistently--it can only lead to success for Martinez, which would make him a steal in the final rounds of your draft.--Tyler Germain - RotoBaller