Detroit Tigers’ J.D. Martinez Proving He’s Not a Fluke

The Detroit Tigers got lucky with Martinez last season after they claimed him off waivers from the Houston Astros. Over the course of three seasons in Houston, Martinez struggled to live up to his “super prospect” promise. Then, with an act of the heavens up above, Martinez became a power-hitting outfielder worthy or a starting spot on big league rosters.

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But something about Martinez’s success, though compelling, was unsettling. Here’s a guy that has struggled his entire professional career and then all of a sudden was an all star. If anything, his 2014 season seemed like a fluke. But the Tigers organization didn’t seem too concerned as they were planning on Martinez being one of their starting outfielders come 2015.  While most people were excited about another year of J.D. Martinez, I was a bit concerned that the Tigers were putting too much confidence into him.

If he were to play for the team in 2015 and be a complete flop the Tigers would be out of luck.

So many teams have bit the bullet when putting faith and money into players with one good season; recently, the Baltimore Orioles with Chris Davis and the Toronto Blue Jays with R.A. Dickey. Detroit was expecting Martinez to replicate his 2014 season for many years to come. And judging by his progress as a player and his performance in Spring Training, J.D. Martinez is showing that he is not a one-hit wonder.

Martinez feels quite confident, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. When asked what if he worries about the pressure surrounding him, Martinez had this to say:

"“I don’t even really worry about that,” he said. “I feel like I don’t have to do anything. The only thing I have to prove is to myself so I know the work that I did.“I know the change that I made to prove to me it wasn’t gonna be. I’m just getting my at-bats in and getting ready for the season.”"

Martinez currently leads the Tigers in batting average, sporting a .339 BA. He is currently tied with Yoenis Cespedes for the team lead with 5 home runs and is second among the team with 11 RBI’s. Obviously Spring Training is tough to compare to the regular season, but it’s a quality sample size that foreshadows what is yet to come.

If Martinez can keep on growing as a player and produce like he did last year, Martinez’s consistency and ability will never be questioned again.

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