Guardians Season in Review: Angel Martinez

An interesting debut season for the Guardians’ ... outfielder... ???

In a season of continued youth influx on the Guardians, no player was younger than Angel Martinez. What should we expect from the 22 year old for the future?

The most interesting development for Martinez in the offseason was a switch to taking reps in the outfield from his previous installment in infield-only roles. Angel ended up with 33 major league innings at second base and third base, combined, and almost 300 innings in the outfield, mostly in left and center field. In the outfield, he was slightly below average with -2 Outs Above Average and 0 Defensive Runs Saved. In the infield, the same size is quite small but has him at 0 Outs Above Average and -1 Defensive Runs saved. His arm looked solid in the outfield... it's his range and jump that need improvement. One can reasonably assume an additional offseason to work on the new role can only help.

In looking at Martinez's plate discipline numbers, he maintained mostly steady values in approach from the minors. He chased slightly more than the natural increase one might expect, so perhaps additional experience and time for growth may help there. His 1.7% barrel rate was the big issue, as he hit fly balls about 41% of the time and pulled balls about 41% of the time. His minor league numbers pulling the ball were closer to 45%, so it's possible he may be able to increase that number. He will have to chase less, pull more fly balls and catch a couple more barrels to make himself look like a future starter for the Guardians.

It's easy to get excited about Angel, as putting up an 83 wRC+ as a rookie and being projected for 94 wRC+ for next season by Steamer is very encouraging. As a person, he seems very kind and easy to root for. It seems clear the Guardians would prefer not to have him play middle infield, so I hope his entire training is focused on centerfield where he has a clear chance to earn a starting role on the Guardians at the moment.