Dodgers News: MLB Analyst Doesn’t See JD Martinez Sustaining Production
When slugger J.D. Martinez signed with the Dodgers for just $10 million, many saw that as a bargain. Martinez took less money from other teams to come to Los Angeles because he believed that spending a year with the Dodgers would heavily increase his value. Over two months into the season, it’s safe to say that Martinez’s decision was a good one. He looks like his old self and has been mashing the baseball this season.
The power hitter reunited with Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc and has gone back to being the dangerous slugger that the league has become accustomed to seeing. He is third on the team in home runs with 16, only trailing Max Muncy and Mookie Betts. Martinez is also second on the Dodgers in extra-base hits, just behind MVP candidate Freddie Freeman. All in all, Martinez’s time in blue has gone better than most could have expected.
However, ESPN Senior Writer David Schoenfield doesn’t believe that the 35-year-old will keep up this level of production as the season goes on. His thoughts:
“Early results are NOT REAL. I just don’t see him maintaining a 146 OPS+ at age 35 after not hitting at that level the past five seasons. The Dodgers’ analytical staff certainly might be helping him, but this looks like a case where the rest of his season projections should be folded in, so something like a .260 average and sub-.500 slugging moving forward is probably more realistic.”
Per ESPN.com
There are certainly some things to watch for as the season progresses, but Martinez has looked extremely comfortable hitting in the Dodgers’ lineup. Will he keep up this level of production all year? Probably not. But the team will take it as long as he can go. Martinez is doing damage to opposing pitchers despite some numbers not being on his side and that just shows that he is a professional hitter. As Schoenfield points out:
“His swing-and-miss rate is all the way down to the 10th percentile. This is the type of profile pitchers usually learn to exploit, but Martinez is still doing damage.”
Per ESPN.com
Martinez is having one of those seasons to remember and he’s doing it at the best time. Los Angeles has had some struggles with consistency and Martinez has been everything and more. Assuming he stays healthy, he will be a major piece to their puzzle going forward this season as they chase another World Series.
He has given this team a major power hitter in the middle of the lineup, something they have been missing since Cody Bellinger fell off the map after 2019. He adds another dimension to this Dodgers team and they are lucky to have him for as little as they are paying him. If he does keep up this level of production, he will easily be the steal of last offseason.
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