Player Profile: Starling Marte

There are some ifs, but Marte could bring a nice power/speed combo.

Photo courtesy of Michael Baron.

Starling Marte was one of those guys last year that you may have taken a flier on late in an auction or draft with the hope that he might get a late-season call-up to provide a speed-power combination that is hard to find. If you did that, you were thrilled that the Pirates called him up on July 26, more than a month before the September call-ups when most were projecting that Marte would arrive.

Marte was immediately inserted into the starting line-up and provided the power and speed that was promised with five homers and 12 stolen bases in 47 games.

This spring, he is sure to go in every draft and earlier than you might expect in some as he seems to have a starting spot locked down for the Pirates.

Let’s see what to expect from Marte.

PROS

As I said, he has speed and power and the ability to be at least a 20-20 guy and maybe 20-40. His stats would not have translated to that last year over a full season, but improvement should be expected in his first full year in the bigs that could get him near those numbers.

The power has arrived gradually for Marte but it has improved to the point he hit 17 homers last year in the majors and minors combined. Quite frankly, looking at his track record, five homers in 182 at-bats is probably a bit more than expected during his first trip around the bigs. He hit 1, 9, 3, 2, and 12 homers in his first five professional seasons so the power is coming. I wouldn’t expect him to hit much more than 20 homers any time soon, but 20 is within reach.

Speed is his best tool as he stole at least 16 bases in each pro season culminating with 37 combined in AAA and Pittsburgh last year. His 12 stolen bases for the Pirates would translate to about 40 for a 162-game season and that is a fantastic benchmark for a young player considering he should only get better as he gets more comfortable on the bases in the majors.

His .300 on-base percentage in Pittsburgh wasn’t great, but he has always been over .340 in the minors so that is another area where he should quickly improve.

CONS

Marte batted just .257 in Pittsburgh and combined with his .300 on-base percentage, he needs to improve to stay near the top of the order where you want him to maximize his speed.

His batting average improved each year in the minors until he made the final step and fell from .332 in AA to .282 in AAA. Then it dropped another 25 points once he made it to the majors. His track record shows he can hit for average, but he hasn’t shown he can do that at the highest level yet and I don’t think it is realistic to expect a major improvement this year although he should eventually be a .280 hitter in the majors.

Not surprisingly, his strikeout rate also increased when he got to the majors with 50 strikeouts in 47 games, but that is an area where he should improve his second year around.

One thing to note about Marte is that he isn’t as young as you might think. He’s now 24, which is a bit old for a top prospect. He spent parts of six seasons in the minors. Many top prospects who post his solid minor-league numbers reach the majors earlier than Marte did, but the Pirates moved him slowly through the system. So don’t expect the kind of rapid improvement we often see from 20- and 21-year olds who break into the bigs, but there is still plenty of time for Marte to add to his skills.

OUTLOOK

Marte should be better across the board in his first full season in the bigs, which makes you hope for a .280 average with 17 or 18 homers and near 40 stolen bases. That’s not out of the question and would make him a valuable fantasy player.

If you have a guy in your league who likes to go early on top prospects hoping for immense upside, let Marte go, but if you are in a league with guys who tend to take proven performers, grab him if he falls in the middle or later in drafts. Marte should be a solid No. 3 outfielder this year with the ability to be a difference-maker in stolen bases.