The Cleveland Guardians have been working to build the outfield of the future.
And if Angel Martinez can maintain his current level of play, there’s a good chance Cleveland has its No. 3 spot secured.
On Wednesday, April 8, the Guardians dominated the Kansas City Royals at home from Progressive Field, 10-2, to complete a series sweep. The play at the plate was phenomenal, as the Guardians racked up 16 total hits in the game to go alongside four walks drawn.
One of the players who was feeling the game really well was Martinez, who went 4-for-5 from the plate with four RBI. His four sent in came off a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning, clinching the win for the Guardians.
At one point in the game, though, he did have a small blunder, taking off from second and trying to get to third on a double, but he said that teammate José Ramírez helped him stay calm and not get into his own head. Moments like that from Ramírez allow a young player like Martinez to take the moment, learn from it and move on.
“Look at what I did today,” Martinez said in his postgame press conference on Wednesday. “I made that mistake right away, but when I got to the dugout, he [Jose] said, ‘You cool, you cool, you cool. Like, go play defense and you’re going to be good.’ When you got guys like that, it makes it so easy because you just go to the field and have fun.”
Since entering the league just two seasons ago, Martinez has been able to keep himself as a focal point in Cleveland’s system due to his willingness to grow and improve.
Not only has he just gotten generally better all around over time, but his ability to play both the outfield and infield, and bat from both the left and right sides of the plate, makes him such a useful tool for the Guardians’ coaching staff.
Following his home run, which came off his right side, Martinez was asked about the growth he’s seen in himself and his switch-hitting abilities.
“Yeah, I feel like this game, especially at this level, it’s a lot of mental,” Martinez started. “And for me, just working on my mechanics and staying in rhythm, and just like staying on that mental side too, like at the highest level. It’s been really good for me.”
While it is still early in the campaign, Martinez’s advanced metrics show that he’s continuing to trend in the right direction.
His xwOBA and xBA are both in the 81st percentile or higher, while his xSLG is in the 68th percentile and his K% is in the 76th percentile. His Whiff% is also at an incredible mark of 14.3, placing him in the 93rd percentile.
So far, he’s spread the field out nicely as well when he is getting hits. Of his nine knocks, three of his extra base hits have gone to right field, while his singles have been evenly distributed throughout right, center and left. As long as he can continue to break up where his hits are going, opposing teams won’t be able to adjust to him as easily defensively.
“For me, it’s definitely good having Hosey, having Hoskins here,” Martinez said about how he’s been able to grow. “I’ve been able to see how Hosey stays so focused, like to get where he is at right now. And for me, that’s a big takeaway, seeing him every day. Hoskins talked to me a lot, ‘You’re good, you’re good, stay how you are, stay how you are.’
“Having those two guys here and being able to see what they do and how they stay calm, that’s really good.”
The Guardians are in a good spot right now with various players breaking through on the offensive end, with Rhys Hoskins knocking three doubles on Wednesday, CJ Kayfus leaving the yard recently and Austin Hedges even providing a bit of consistency at the plate.
If Martinez can continue to play the way he has been, complementing the rest of the lineup, the team will likely continue tacking on marks to the win column.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
