Pittsburgh Pirates OF Starling Marte has had a peculiarly successful 2016 thus far.
By many accounts, Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte is having an excellent campaign. As you will soon see, he ranks very well in the National League in several premiere categories.
Why, then, does Marte find himself with just four home runs and 19 RBI after two full months to the season? Overall, Marte slashes .318/.360/.460, and his .820 OPS is good for third overall among Pirates regulars. His .292 batting average when runners are in scoring position is second only to Josh Harrison‘s .352. His line drive rate of 21.7 percent with runners in scoring position is second again to Harrison among regulars.
We don’t find much clarity when looking at some of Marte’s statistics compared to other National League hitters.
[table id=148 /]*- Runs Created taken from Baseball Reference’s formula popularized by Bil James
We can see that Marte is among NL Leaders in several key categories that run producers strive for, and his 2.3 WAR leads the Pittsburgh Pirates as of this writing. Unlike other hitters counted on to drive in runs, Marte provides extra value through his running game, which remains impressive. At the end of the day, his runs created (RC) falls short of what the club now expects from the fourth-year player. His wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) with runners in scoring position (RISP) checks in at 116 – not horrible by any means considering major league average is 100 – but trails the slow-starting Andrew McCutchen and the returned Jung Ho Kang.
It’s not as if Marte is not getting his chances.
Chances Aplenty
Among Pittsburgh Pirates regulars, Marte has seen the second most plate appearances with RISP at 67. Tied with Jordy Mercer and seeing one less chance than Gregory Polanco‘s 68, Marte has the undesirable distinction of having the second highest strikeout rate on the club in this scenario at 23.9 percent.
As it has been in the past, strikeouts continue to plague Marte.
As we saw above, Marte’s strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9.6 is the third worst in the National League. He has the 26th highest strikeout rate overall and still does not draw walks with just five over the season’s first two months. One can almost forgive the lack of free passes when factoring in his eight instances of being hit by a pitch, third most in the NL. You could also argue that as a cleanup hitter, Marte’s primary objective is to put the ball in play. He does that, and does it well. His .364 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is solid, if not spectacular. Coupled with the line drive rates above, the picture painted of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ cleanup hitter is one of a successful hitter. Or is it?
Singles Scene
Perhaps the answer lies in Marte’s hits themselves. 12 of his 18 hits with RISP have gone for singles. That’s a high ratio that could explain why Marte is able to sport good numbers when RBI opportunities present themselves. Marte may be cashing in on the opportunities, but the RBIs don’t come in bunches for him as they do for others such as Polanco or even Sean Rodriguez.
This more than anything could suggest that Marte’s run production numbers can, and will, even out as the season progresses. 17 of Marte’s 19 RBI have come when runners are primed to score. If he can continue to work towards a strikeout rate under 20 percent in this scenario, the results could mean much more production, even if it does come from singles.
The Pittsburgh Pirates should wait on making any move to take Starling Marte out of the number four hole, as I strongly believe his numbers will even out. However, other viable options (read: Kang) are present, and the impetus will be on Marte to work on the craft of run production.
Featured Image Credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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