What the Marlins hope to get out of Starling Marte. And another top prospect called up
It didn’t take long to figure out how Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly felt about the newest veteran player he had at his disposal.
He has been in the other dugout against Starling Marte, the 31-year-old outfielder with eight-plus years of MLB experience, two Gold Glove Awards and an All-Star recognition to his name.
Now, it’s Mattingly who gets to utilize him how he needs as the Marlins continue their push for the playoffs during the second half of this 60-game season. That starts with Tuesday’s home game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Marte batted second, started in center field and hit a go-ahead home run in the Marlins’ 3-2 win.
“That was huge,” Mattingly said. “... We didn’t want to go into extras. It was great to get that run. Obviously that gave us a boost right there, got us a win at home. Hopefully we can keep that going in the right direction.”
The Marlins acquired Marte from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday shortly before MLB’s trade deadline in exchange for pitchers Caleb Smith, Humberto Mejia and Julio Frias. Marte, a career .288 hitter, helps the Marlins in multiple facets.
First, and most obvious: He’s another veteran presence in the lineup who can provide consistency to the offense.
Miami has seen flashes from the offense but the group has struggled plenty during the season as well. The Marlins entered Tuesday ranked 20th in the league in batting average (.237) and 21st in on-base percentage (.314). They have also been shut out three times in 30 games and have been held to one run on three other occasions.
Marte’s .311 batting average heading into Tuesday ranked tied for 16th in all of baseball among qualified hitters. His 23 runs scored are tied for 25th league-wide.
In addition, according to Statcast, Marte:
▪ Is on pace for a career-low 13.8 percent strikeout rate and career-high 7.2 percent walk rate. His strikeout rate over the past five years has been between 16 percent and 19.4 percent, while his walk rate has been between 4.3 percent and 5.9 percent.
▪ Ranks in the top third of baseball in spring speed (91st percentile) and expected batting average (81st percentile).
“It’s just nice to have another guy in the lineup that you like,” Mattingly said.
Second, he provides quality defense and provides stability in center field. Marte is the sixth player the Marlins will use in center field over 31 games. Magneuris Sierra and Monte Harrison, the two with the most playing time there at nine games each, are respectively on the injured list and at the team’s alternate training site in Jupiter. Jon Berti (seven games), Lewis Brinson (four) and Jonathan Villar (one) are the other players Miami has used in center field this season.
“Center field has been an area we weren’t quite sure where we were going. It’s been a mix and match. It’s not the best scenario,” Mattingly said. “When you get a guy like this, you put him in center and you let him roll. He’s having a good year. We’ve seen him in the past. He’s got a quick twitch, great body, does a lot of things. He’s a dynamic player. Fits right in to where we’re trying to get to all the time.”
And the Marlins are able to have him play right away, too. Marte flew commercially to join the team in Miami, which normally could have been cause for concern due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
But under the league’s updated COVID-19 health and safety policies, since Marte has been part of the league’s regular COVID-19 testing, he only had to take a point of care rapid COVID-19 test once he arrived at Marlins Park. Those tests usually takes about 30 minutes to produce results.
Jazz Chisholm called up
Another top Marlins prospect has made his way to the MLB roster with the team’s everyday second base job up for grabs after trading Villar to the Blue Jays.
Jazz Chisholm, the fourth-ranked prospect in the organization and the No. 70 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, was added to the active roster Tuesday ahead of the Marlins’ game against the Blue Jays. The Marlins acquired Chisholm in July 29 from the Diamondbacks for starting pitcher Zac Gallen.
Chisholm, who hasn’t played above Double A in the minors, is a career .255 hitter with 56 home runs through four years in the minors. He had one of his best stretches after being traded to the Marlins, hitting .284 over 81 at-bats. He made his way up the minors exclusively playing shortstop, but Mattingly said he has been playing a lot of second base while in Jupiter.
To make room for Chisholm on the active roster, the Marlins optioned outfielder Jesus Sanchez to the alternate training site.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 5:25 PM.
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