by warrick95 » Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:14 pm
Okay people, I'm just as high on Martinez as the rest of the world...okay, maybe not as high on him as this guy, though.
But still, Victor definitely has the potential to be the best catcher off that list...this year, too. He's definitely one of the best value picks, because most people are overlooking him.
Last year in the bigs, he batted .289 with 1 homer and 16 ribs. Nothing special, right? However, he batted a blistering .344 over the final month of the season, with 1 homer and 8 RBIs. He then had to shut it down for the season due to an injury. He hit .328 with 7 homers and 45 ribs in 73 games at AAA.
The thing with Victor that's so impressive is the high average. He's always hit for that average wherever he's been. That's pretty rare with catchers. Guys like Ramon Castro (whom everybody is blantering about for some reason) can give you power numbers...but their average will absolutely kill your team. Martinez will hit for an average close to .300. Power's definitely a concern, but that usually comes with age. It would be surprising if the pop did not come. Furthermore, Martinez will bat high in the lineup. Many catchers bat 7-8-9...Martinez will bat at least sixth for the Indians. Now that Bradley (cleanup) is gone, it's possible that he moves up even more (unless somebody is acquired back. I don't see Escobar batting above Martinez). Against lefties, Martinez moves up even more, as Hafner will move down in the lineup. That would probably put him at five, a key RBI position.
Anyway, the key to Martinez is his high ceiling. Prospect reports have really lauded him. His type of batting eye is just something extremely rare for catchers. Great bang for the buck, as I drafted him as my starting C in the final rounds in two leagues. I'll do my catcher rankings in my next post.
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