X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Fantasy Implications - J.D. Martinez to the Red Sox

Boston Red Sox OF JD Martinez is on a new team for the 2018 MLB season. Michael Grennell analyzes his move to the AL East to see whether his ADP will rise or fall.

The national nightmare is finally over. After weeks upon months of fantasy owners developing carpal tunnel syndrome from hitting F5 repeatedly, desperately searching for any new updates, J.D. Martinez has signed a five-year, $110 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.

After accumulating a .251 average and .687 on-base plus slugging percentage with 24 home runs over his first three seasons with the Houston Astros, Martinez has become one of the top sluggers in the game. Since joining the Tigers in 2014, Martinez has hit .300 with 128 home runs and a .936 OPS — the sixth highest OPS among players with at least 2,000 plate appearances over that time span.

The signing of Martinez does pose an interesting question for Boston now: Who will play where? Last season, the Red Sox sported an outfield trio of Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts with Hanley Ramirez getting the majority of the playing time at designated hitter. Now, barring any trades or injuries, all four will be on the roster in 2018, along with Martinez. So who is going to lose playing time now in Boston? As Scott Boras undoubtedly skips down Yawkey Way whistling with glee, let's take a look at the what this signing will mean to fantasy owners this season.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Heading to Greener Grass?

Splitting time between Detroit and Arizona last season, Martinez put up the best numbers of his career, batting .303 with a career-high 1.066 OPS and 45 HR. Martinez also set a career-high with a 10.8 percent walk rate, marking his fourth consecutive year of increasing his walk rate. While his strikeout rate was up almost one and a half percent from 2016, his 26.2 K% was the fourth-lowest of his career.

The one big concern for Martinez entering the season is how will his home run totals be affected by playing half of his games at Fenway Park? Last season, Comerica Park and Chase Field were two of the top-10 most hitter-friendly stadiums when it came to home runs. Fenway Park, on the other hand, was among the bottom 10 in the league. Martinez hit 24 of his 45 home runs to right-center or right field in 2017, and while Fenway's right field fence is the closest to home plate of the three parks, the distances to right-center and deep right-center field are between seven and 15 feet further at Fenway than either Comerica or Chase. In seven career games at Fenway Park, Martinez has never hit a home run there. While that will certainly change this season, fantasy owners should likely expect closer to 30 HR than 45 in 2018.

Moving into the Boston lineup, Martinez should see an increase in his counting numbers. After joining the Diamondbacks halfway through last year, he recorded 26 more RBI and nine more runs in 25 more plate appearances than his totals in Detroit. Arizona had the eighth-highest scoring offense last year, averaging 5.01 runs per game, while Boston was 10th in the league, averaging 4.85 runs per game.

With all that in mind, it seems like Martinez should be in line for roughly 35 HR, with 90 runs and 115 RBI in Boston. Our rankings currently have Martinez as the No. 8 outfielder, with a target draft range of early in the third round. Now that he's with the Red Sox, he is likely worth picking up in the late second round and might even be worth taking over Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge — our No. 7 outfielder.

As far as the effect his signing will have on the Red Sox outfield, it will primarily impact Jackie Bradley Jr. While Bradley was likely not going to have an impact in mixed leagues, he was may have had some value in AL-only leagues in 2018. Bradley hit 17 HR last year and 26 HR in 2016, and could've been in line for at least 20 HR this year. Based on his 14.5 percent HR/FB rate in 2017 — which was 3.5 percent lower than his average from the previous two seasons — 2018 could have seen a bump in his power numbers. Now barring trade or injury, Bradley will be undraftable in anything but deep AL-only leagues.

 

More 2018 Player Outlooks




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Aaron Wiggins

Sidelined Friday
Luguentz Dort

 Questionable for Friday
Chet Holmgren

Available for Friday's Matchup With Kings
Zach LaVine

Set to Return Friday
Domantas Sabonis

Questionable to Suit Up Friday
Terance Mann

Considered Probable for Friday's Cup Game
Taurean Prince

Questionable to Play Bulls
Dean Wade

Out Against Wizards
Ayo Dosunmu

Questionable for Friday's Game
Kelly Olynyk

Tagged as Questionable for Friday
Jeremy Sochan

Listed as Questionable for Meeting With Rockets
Steven Adams

May Remain Out Friday
Collin Sexton

Listed as Probable for Friday
Dereck Lively II

Expected to Return Next Week
Caris LeVert

Questionable for Friday
Grayson Allen

Good to Go Thursday
Jalen Green

Upgraded to Available
De'Aaron Fox

Not Ready to Play Friday
De'Andre Hunter

on Track to Return Friday
Lonzo Ball

to Sit Out Friday's Game
Tobias Harris

Out on Friday
Brock Purdy

Getting Closer, Still Questionable for Week 10
Chris Godwin

Might Not Return Until Late November, Early December
Daniel Jones

Colts Believe in Daniel Jones as Their Franchise QB
Puka Nacua

Practices in Full, Says he Feels Good
A.J. Brown

Listed as Full Participant in Thursday's Practice
Saquon Barkley

Practicing in Full Coming Out of Bye Week
Kyle Tucker

Headlines List of 13 Players to Receive Qualifying Offers
Pete Fairbanks

Becomes a Free Agent
Filip Hallander

Out Against Capitals
Tyson Kozak

Available Versus Blues
Cody Glass

Returns to Action Thursday
Connor Brown

Out on Thursday
Mats Zuccarello

Could Be an Option Friday
Matt Duchene

Remains Out Thursday
Harold Fannin Jr.

Misses Practice With Hamstring Injury
Roope Hintz

a Game-Time Call Thursday
CFB

Luke Fickell Will Return as Wisconsin's Head Coach in 2026
NFL

Antonio Brown Extradited to the United States on Attempted Murder Charge
Aaron Jones Sr.

Returns to Practice in a Limited Capacity on Thursday
D'Andre Swift

on Track to Return After Full Practice
A.J. Brown

Back at Practice After Bye Week
Saquon Barkley

Practicing on Thursday
Rhamondre Stevenson

Misses Another Practice, Availability in Doubt
Garrett Wilson

Cleared for Week 10 Matchup
Rico Dowdle

Back at Practice on Thursday
Bo Bichette

Blue Jays Extend Qualifying Offer to Bo Bichette
Craig Stammen

Named Padres New Manager
Michael Pittman Jr.

Returns to Thursday's Practice
James Cook

Back on the Field on Thursday
Nick Chubb

Back at Practice on Thursday
Brian Thomas Jr.

Not at Practice Again on Thursday
Chris Godwin

Misses Thursday's Practice
Bucky Irving

to Miss Another Week of Practice?
K'Andre Miller

Could Return to Action Thursday
Sean Monahan

Injured in Wednesday's Loss
Tyler Bertuzzi

Pots Third-Period Hat Trick Wednesday
Macklin Celebrini

Leads Sharks Past Kraken
Jakob Chychrun

Records Three Assists Wednesday
Alex Ovechkin

Scores 900th Career Goal
Jorge Polanco

Declines his 2026 Option to Become a Free Agent
Adam Gaudette

Available Against Kraken
Scott Laughton

Set for Season Debut Wednesday
Justin Brazeau

Ruled Out for Four Weeks
Tristan Jarry

Expcted to Miss Three Weeks
Conor Garland

Returns Against Blackhawks
Rasmus Sandin

Back for Capitals Wednesday
Denton Mateychuk

Out on Wednesday
Chris Sale

Braves Picking Up Chris Sale's 2026 Option
Michael Thorbjornsen

Poised to Continue Hot Play in Mexico
Davis Riley

Struggling to Find Form Ahead of World Wide Technology Championship
Taylor Montgomery

Leaning on Putter at World Wide Technology Championship
Stephan Jaeger

Offers Strong Value at World Wide Technology Championship
Ben Griffin

Looks to Stay Hot at El Cardonal
Nick Dunlap

Looking to Find His Game at El Cardonal
Wyndham Clark

Searching for Consistency at El Cardonal
Michael Brennan

Aims to Extend Fairytale Start at El Cardonal
Nathan MacKinnon

Extends Point Streak to Seven Games
Shane Bieber

Staying in Toronto for 2026
Salvador Perez

Agrees to Two-Year Extension With Royals
Trevor Story

Opts in for Remaining Two Years on his Contract
Yu Darvish

to Miss All of 2026 Following Flexor-Tendon Surgery
Shota Imanaga

Becomes a Free Agent
Luis Robert Jr.

White Sox Pick Up 2026 Option on Luis Robert Jr.
CFB

LJ Martin Expected to Play in Top-10 Matchup Against Texas Tech
PGA

LIV Golf Expanding To 72-Hole Format In 2026
Atlanta Braves

Braves Hire Walt Weiss as Their Next Manager
Kris Bubic

Cleared to Begin a Throwing Program
Brandon Woodruff

Declines Mutual Option for 2026
Freddy Peralta

Brewers Exercise 2026 Option on Freddy Peralta
Lucas Giolito

Declines his 2026 Player Option
J.J. Spaun

Finishes Sixth at Procore Championship
PGA

Matti Schmid Finishes Tied for 46th at Baycurrent Classic
Keith Mitchell

Finishes Tied for 10th at Baycurrent Classic
Si Woo Kim

Finishes Tied for 21st at Genesis Championship
Mackenzie Hughes

Misses The Cut at Sanderson Farms Championship
Max Greyserman

Finishes Second at Baycurrent Classic
Austin Eckroat

Finishes Tied for 56th at Baycurrent Classic
Luke Clanton

Finishes Tied for 56th at Bank of Utah Championship
Pete Alonso

Officially Opts Out of his Contract With Mets
Alex Bregman

Opts Out of his Contract With Boston
Edwin Díaz

Edwin Diaz on the Open Market This Winter
Cody Bellinger

Becomes Free Agent After Opting Out
Kyle Larson

Wins His Second NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix
Ryan Blaney

Concludes the 2025 Season with A Win at Phoenix
William Byron

Strong Championship Effort Ends With Late-Race Flat-Tire Crash
Denny Hamlin

Overtime Four-Tire Call Costs Denny Hamlin the Championship
Chase Briscoe

Championship Bid Never Really Started After Two Tire Failures
Brad Keselowski

Nearly Steals Phoenix Race
David Onama

Suffers First-Round TKO Loss
Steve Garcia

Scores First-Round TKO Win
Ante Delija

Suffers His First UFC Loss
CFB

Dylan Raiola Suffers Season-Ending Injury
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Gets Knockout Win
Themba Gorimbo

Drops Decision At UFC Vegas 110
Jeremiah Wells

Gets Back In The Win Column
Yadier del Valle

Remains Undefeated
Isaac Dulgarian

Cut By UFC Following Submission Loss
Daniel Frunza

Still Winless In The UFC
Charles Radtke

Dominates Daniel Frunza
Allan Nascimento

Gets Submission Win
Cody Durden

Suffers Second-Round Submission Loss
Austin Cindric

is A Driver to Avoid for Phoenix DFS Lineups
Alex Bowman

Could Alex Bowman be A Sneaky Tournament Play for Phoenix?
Noah Gragson

Should DFS Players Roster Noah Gragson At Phoenix?
Erik Jones

Is Erik Jones Worth Rostering for DFS at Phoenix?
Michael McDowell

an Easy Recommendation for DFS at Phoenix
Chase Briscoe

Probably Won't Win the Title
Joey Logano

Could Play Spoiler in Championship Battle at Phoenix
Tyler Reddick

Seeking to End Winless Drought, but Probably Won't Have the Speed
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Looks to Protect Top-10 Points Finish at Phoenix
Brad Keselowski

Hasn't Been Fast at Phoenix With RFK Racing
Daniel Suarez

With Nothing at Stake, Expect Little From Daniel Suarez
Kyle Busch

Qualifies Well, but Will Probably Finish Worse Than he Starts
Chris Buescher

Ryan Preece has a Shot to Overtake Chris Buescher as RFK Racing's Lead Driver
Austin Dillon

Looks to Avoid Finishing Last in NASCAR Playoffs
AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger Might be a Worthy DFS Option

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP