Ketel Marte

Marte capped a productive season with an even more impressive postseason run. He posted a career-high 650 regular-season plate appearances while recording a 127 wRC+, the third highest of his career. Contact continued to be Marte's calling card, though he did log the second highest walk rate of his career. His power rebounded after a down season, but Marte's xSLG suggests he was a bit fortunate in that department. Marte swiped eight bags on 10 attempts, but he was one of the few players not to take better advantage of the new rules. For the second straight season, He lowered his strikeout rate while walking at a higher clip, helping maintain one of the top two spots in the Diamondbacks lineup, resulting in the second most runs and RBI of his career, both bettered only by his production in 2019 when Marte took advantage of the happy fun ball. Marte played almost exclusively at second base, losing outfield eligibility. Marte will have a hard time matching last season's power, but he offers a bankable floor with batting average stabilization.

For the second straight season, Marte dealt with hamstring issues. In 2021, he incurred two IL stints, but played well. Last year, Marte played hurt and avoided the IL, but his production suffered. His 18.1% strikeout rate was the highest of his career and 41st percentile sprint speed dropped his infield hit rate to its lowest mark. Marte hit a career high number of fly balls, but with a lower exit velocity, fueling a career low .276 BABIP. Marte is entrenched as the Diamondbacks second baseman, though he played a lot of designated hitter last season to manage his hamstring woes. He's posted a 150 and 140 wRC+ in two of the previous four seasons, so he can be productive, but two consecutive summers dealing with lingering hamstring issues is concerning. A clever approach is buying the injury dip but taking advantage of so many players having second base eligibility and baking a hedge into your lineup.

Marte posted a season more like his breakthrough 2019 than the disappointing 2020 campaign. The problem was Marte was limited to 90 games with two long IL stints for hamstring woes. On the field, Marte essentially mimicked 2019 with a drop in power commensurate with the difference in baseballs. In 2020, Marte lost some aggressiveness which increased contact but decreased exit velocity. Last season, he was a bit less patient but hit the ball with greater force. Given, he's dealt with injuries since 2019, and his sprint speed has dropped from 95th percentile to last season's 44th percentile. To keep him healthy, Arizona plans on leaving Marte to primarily play second base, with prospect Alek Thomas on the verge of manning centerfield. There is clear risk here, but for at least one more season Marte has dual eligibility, a solid batting average floor with pop and possible latent speed, thus is a chance worth taking.

Small-sample caveats apply, as with all disappointing 2020 campaigns, but Marte did very little last season to suggest his 2019 breakout was anything other than a fluke. After hitting .329/.389/.592 that year, he followed it up with a .287/.323/.409 line in 45 games last season, a performance which looks far closer to his .263/.324/.389 line from the first four years of his career. He homered just twice while stealing just a single base. His underlying numbers weren't universally disappointing, as he did post a career-best 10.8 K%, but he also saw his walk rate crater to a career-low 3.6%, while his barrel rate plummeted from 9.3% to 3.7 %. That led to an xSLG of .379, suggesting that he may have even overachieved in the power department. The ceiling of another season like his strong 2019 campaign is still here for Marte, but much of the shine has worn off following a thoroughly mediocre showing in 2020.

Many enjoyed the happy fun ball in 2019, but perhaps none more than Marte. He went from a slightly better than league average offensive producer to one 50 percent better than the league average while playing in the same park. Amazing what doubling your launch angle and getting pull-happy for the first time in your career could do for a player in 2019. None of Marte's batted-ball events made the top 10 percent of the Statcast leaderboards, but the playing time allowed him to make the most of what he was doing. The expected stats do not support the final 2019 numbers as his expected batting average was 34 points lower than his actual mark while his expected slugging percentage was 92 points below his actual SLG. It's a friendly reminder when someone breaks out to the level that Marte did in 2019, the best move for the next season is to project regression rather than another level of statistical ascension.

Marte got a chance to play close to every day in the major leagues in his age-24 season, and the final numbers were fine if unspectacular. He struck out just 25 more times than he walked in 580 plate appearances, and he added more than 40 points to his ISO. That rate-power boost came in large part thanks to his major-league-leading 12 triples. For a player with his pure speed, he sure didn't attempt many stolen bases as manager Torey Lovullo took a more conservative approach on the basepaths. But at least when he did run, Marte was successful (6-for-7). In total, his offenses contributions added up to a 104 wRC+, so better than league average. It's tough to bank on Lovullo changing his philosophy in the running game, but it's possible he swings more to the aggressive side again after Arizona tore it down this offseason. Either way, Marte should be useful on volume alone. The dual eligibility (shortstop and second) helps his case.

Acquired by the Diamondbacks last offseason, Marte failed to impress his new team enough in the spring to crack a crowded middle infield and was sent down to Triple-A Reno. In that hitter's paradise, Marte slashed an impressive .338/.391/.514 in 70 games before being summoned on June 27 when injuries finally created a need. Marte responded with a passable 260/.345/.395 line over 255 plate appearances, spanning 73 games, though he swiped only three bags. Marte's game is making frequent contact, mostly of the groundball variety. In order to be a valuable fantasy commodity, he needs to tap into the stolen-base potential displayed in the minors and at times with the Mariners in 2015 and 2016. The Snakes stole the seventh-most bases in the league last season, so team context is favorable. Marte appears to be the favorite to open the season as the starting shortstop.

Few late-round names matched Marte's buzz for stolen bases last spring. He was coming off swiping 28 bags between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma in 2015. His wheels remained locked, however, as is often the case when a young thief faces more resistance to running in the bigs. His walk rate (9.7 percent) from 2015 tanked, limiting his attempts. A low lineup spot doesn't always hinder speedsters in the American League - there's no pitcher due up to clog up the bases -- but Marte occupying the nine-hole most of the time did him few favors overall. Marte has put the ball on the ground more than half the time and has shown above-average contact ability, which open a door for batting-average upside along with 30-steal potential, which has not vanished. He's just 23, after all, and he's now in a more hitter-friendly home park after getting shipped to Arizona as part of the Taijuan Walker deal in November.

Marte was one of the few positives in a forgettable season for the Mariners last year. A broken thumb in late May delayed his arrival, but he made it to Seattle for the final two months and forced his way into the lineup with impressive play at the plate and in the field. Marte's solid on-base numbers translated to the majors, where he walked at nearly a 10-percent clip. His contact, a strong part of his game in the minors, likely will improve from the 80-percent rate he posted with the Mariners as he cuts his strikeouts (17.9 percent). A switch hitter, Marte posted a .780 OPS against right-handers and .720 vs. lefties. He doesn't have much home-run power, but he has excellent speed with 25-steal upside. He'll get that chance this season as he enters spring as the starting shortstop

Marte had a strong 2014 campaign for Double-A Jackson before a late-season promotion to Triple-A Tacoma, where he impressed in 19 games. Known for his above-average speed, Marte stole 29 bases in 33 attempts between the two spots. Although Marte has little power to speak of and may still be a year or more away from being MLB ready, his rapid climb through the system likely explains the team's willingness to trade fellow shortstop Nick Franklin at the deadline last summer. Marte has good on-base skills and makes solid contact as well.