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Marc Krauss Can Follow in J.D. Martinez’s Footsteps for Detroit Tigers

By Josh Sippie

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Signing a career .192 hitter is not usually big news, especially when it is a signing that is designed to cover for the best hitter on the planet. But that is precisely what the Detroit Tigers did when they grabbed recently-designated Marc Krauss as another option in their plight to cover for Miguel Cabrera.

Covering for Miggy is an impossible task; you are going to fail. Knowing that may alleviate some of the pressure and reassure Krauss that he really has nothing to lose. He is still only 27 years old and the potential has always been there.

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“I think watching him for a year or so, you could tell there was potential with his bat and I’m just hoping he’s able to bring it and help this ballclub,” Tiger’s third base coach Dave Clark said via the Detroit Free Press. Clark was third base coach for the Houston Astros when Marc Krauss was trying to establish a footing at Minute Maid Park.

While at Houston, Krauss was given just over 300 at-bats and he managed 10 home runs and 34 RBIs. Not the best return from a guy that terrorized in the Minors.

But sometimes a change of scenery is all you need. For example, look no further than the last guy who the Astros released and the Tiger’s picked up: J.D. Martinez.

Martinez was average with Houston. He was not hitting the socks off the ball (if balls wore socks) but he was doing enough to stay relevant.

Now, with Detroit, he has the most home runs on the team and he is only getting better. Martinez destroyed in June and he is showing no signs of slowing down. That kind of success in such a similar circumstance could be incredibly beneficial to Marc Krauss as he seeks to find his way at the professional ball level.

I try to stay away from Minor League statistics because they really mean diddly squat in the pros, but just for the sake of giving credit where it is due, Marc Krauss has had a very successful minor league career. His .279 average may not be eye-popping but he is known for his power, not his average.

In six enigmatic years in the minors, Krauss has clubbed 82 home runs and driven in 354. That is a lot of run production across a long period of time. Surely the right coaching can produce similar results in the Majors.

While no one expects him to make Detroit forget about Miggy, no one expected J.D. Martinez to surpass Miggy in power numbers either, and he has already surpassed him in home runs.

Stranger things have happened.

Next: Miggy's Injury the end of Detroit's Playoff Hopes?

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