Detroit Tigers: Leonys Martin trying to get back to old ways in 2018
Among the Detroit Tigers position battles, this spring will be the competition for the center field job. With a strong spring training, Leonys Martin could very well get the nod.
Although the rebuilding Detroit Tigers may not have made any flashy moves in free agency this offseason, they did sign a couple of intriguing bounce-back candidates. One player, the Tigers, took a gamble on was Leonys Martin, who agreed to a one-year deal with the club in December.
Martin is coming off of a dreadful season, hitting just .172/.232/.281 (38 OPS+) with three homers and seven stolen bases through 49 games with the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs. According to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, it appears that Martin may have gotten a bit too power happy after a 15-homer campaign with the Mariners in 2016. Per McCosky, Martin found himself “caught up in the launch angle craze,” thinking he might be able to unlock even more power potential.
When Martin was a member of the Texas Rangers from 2011-15, he never once achieved double digits in the home run department, despite the fact that he played in a hitter-friendly ballpark. The 15 home runs he hit in 2016 nearly doubled his previous career high of eight.
Less power, more speed
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Martin posted a modest but respectable .255/.305/.361 batting line and swiped a total of 84 bases during his five years with the Rangers. It appears as though Martin will be aiming for a similar approach with the Tigers, with McCosky writing that “[he] feels like he’s back to his old swing mechanics.”
When Martin was at his best for the Rangers between 2013-14, he had a line-drive rate of 21.5 percent. Last season, his line-drive rate fell to only 14.6 percent. Given the spacious dimensions of Comerica Park, getting back to lining the ball should bode well for Martin. Per manager Ron Gardenhire, however, Martin’s biggest asset is his speed.
““If he drives the ball, that’s great, but his biggest value is how electric he can be running the bases and taking two and stealing that extra base.”
Martin is also mentioned as a potential leadoff hitter for the Tigers. Assuming he can leave a rocky 2017 campaign behind him, he should be as good of a candidate as any to bat leadoff for the Tigers in 2018.
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Joining Martin in the center field battle this spring will be JaCoby Jones and perhaps Victor Reyes. While Jones is very athletic and has a lot of potentials has struggled to the tune of a .178/.236/.278 batting line over parts of two seasons with the Detroit Tigers. Reyes, a switch-hitter whom the Tigers selected in the Rule 5 draft, had a solid season for the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ Double-A affiliate last year, hitting .292/.332/.399 with four homers over 126 games.