FanPost

How good is V-Mart? (Victor Martinez)

How Good is V-Mart?

Well, we all know this dude has been around for a long time. Myself being a Detroit fan wanted to post his 'good-side' and attempt to dissect why we picked him up for our backstop.

Now lets look into his consistency, and his power:

(Note: I hope this will help you decide when draft day comes and you need a catcher)

Consistency:

Yes, Martinez does get his at bats in every season. In 2009 Victor had 588, and in 2010 he had 493 - Ron Shandler's Forecaster is saying he will reach 506 this season. You don't have to worry every once in while with injuries such as thumb and toe problems. He is a catcher after all, they squat and get beat up all game. It comes with playing the position so it'll all be the same in the catcher pool. His contact rate is steadily at 88-89% throughout the last two years, showing he isn't slowly decreasing. Also, his K% has dropped while his SLG% has risen. The fact that attracted at me the most while I researched was that his ISO has gone up by .014. Many MLB batters do not have that jump in there careers. The best part overall about this player is his average, we all know he has hit in the 300's these past years. You cannot deny a solid 300 hitter at all. A .302 average will give you your important singles or doubles in your H2H league when you need them the most.

For an example:

Player A - Hits 5 Singles every 3 games (Averaging 1.6 singles per game), he brings it to the table every week.

Player B - Hits 1 Double, 2 Singles and 1 Homerun in 3 games than hits 1 Single in a 10 game span.

Player A, is Victor Martinez

Player B, is Mike Napoli

See my point?

Power:

His power (regarding homeruns) tops players like Buster Posey, and Matt Wieters. He is fairly old, but he still is a stud when it comes to hitting the long ball. His power index has gone up from 101 in '09 to 116 in 2010. The batters who have ball crushing power have PX's of 120. Thats only a 4 point spread between his and the best. Martinez had a build up of his FB rate showing that there can be more chances for him to widen up and hit more bombs. His LD% has also gone up showing that he can hit some lasers than just typical grounders. He's also kept a good record of doubles ranging in the 30's. Martinez landed in 5th in the AL for most RBI's in 2009, he brews in runs with strong hits. He is superior to a player like Joe Mauer in the HR area... What is interesting though is Joe is having an ADP of 26.9 in ESPN Drafts while V-Mart is having an ADP of 42.9.

Putting this all together, if I were to give Victor a grade from A-F I would give him a B+ after going through this information to determine so.

Quick Quote from my one of my favorite fantasy sources:

V-Mart is the best fantasy catcher thanks to his consistent power (20 or more home runs in the three of the past four seasons) and a high average (career .300 hitter).

From the "Official MLB Fantasy Baseball 2011 Preview"