Don't Forget About Victor Martinez on Your Fantasy Baseball Draft Day

Victor Martinez was sorely missed in the world of fantasy baseball a season ago. The 34-year-old veteran holds dual eligibility on most websites at catcher and designated hitter, but his entire year was compromised due to a knee injury suffered in spring training. Now at full health, V-Mart is ready to contribute offensively for the Detroit Tigers and their fantasy friendly batting order.

Slated to hit in the No. 5 spot behind Prince Fielder and reigning AL MVP Miguel Cabrera, the contributions will likely be plentiful. Martinez hit .330 and drove in 103 runs back in 2011, his first season as a Tiger. Ready to pick up where he left off, V-Mart should be seeing base-runners galore when he steps to the plate in 2013.

For a guy that loves to pepper the spacious gaps of Comerica Park, that’s music to the ears of those who will be smart enough to draft him this season. Martinez whacked 40 doubles in that 2011 season and, once he gets locked in at the plate, you can expect many more in 2013. Martinez’s power dipped tremendously after the move to Motown but he still provides plenty of value at either catcher or DH.

The positions Martinez qualifies for only increases his value, as it’ll be slim pickings at catcher and DH for yet another year. Only one catcher in either league (Buster Posey) even broke 90 RBI in 2012. Only three finished with a batting average of .300 or better. It wasn’t much better in the DH category, either.

Bottom line, don’t let V-Mart’s year absence from the game scare you away on draft day. The veteran has been swinging the bat at an extremely high level for years and there’s little reason to believe he won’t be able to do so in 2013 and potentially a couple years into the future. The Tigers, especially with the addition of Torii Hunter, are loaded with talented bats and the runs will be coming in bunches once they all find their groove.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity of landing Martinez in the middle rounds of the draft, as you’ll probably end up getting an early-round-caliber player with dual eligibility at production-scarce positions.