Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Over the offseason, many wondered what the future held for J.D Martinez after the former Houston Astros castoff revamped his swing and then came out of nowhere to hit .315 with 23 homers and a .912 OPS for the Detroit Tigers a season ago. Through his first 70 games of the 2015 season, it seems that Martinez has been on a mission to prove that he is anything but a one-year wonder.
Sure, some were concerned about Martinez when he went through an 0-for-25 stretch with 16 strikeouts earlier in the season, but he has really been coming on strong as of late. He had a three-homer performance against the New York Yankees this past Sunday on Father’s Day, and he has lit up the month of June to the tune of a .284/.321/.649 triple-slash with eight homers and a 162 wRC+. He finds himself entering play on Thursday batting a robust .272/.331/.517 with 17 home runs and a 132 wRC+ on the season.
Much like he did in 2014, Martinez has impressed mightily with his opposite field power this year. Out of all of his home runs, four have gone to left field, four have gone to center and a whopping nine have gone to right. His 247 wRC+ to the opposite field surprisingly only ranks sixth among all qualified hitters in MLB.
Of course, Martinez is still striking out at a rather high clip of 26.2 percent, but it appears that the strikeouts are simply part of the package. After all, he finished last season with a nearly identical K rate of 26.3 percent.
When considering his strikeouts on top of the fact that the .389 BABIP he posted last season was clearly unsustainable, it is hardly a surprise that his batting average has taken a bit of a dive this year. In reality, he may not really be the .300-plus hitter he was last year (although it should probably be noted that he did hit for high averages in the minors), but it is unmistakably clear that his power his legit.
At the rate he is going, Martinez may even have a chance to push 35-40 homers this year.
Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.
