Victor Martinez, Designated Hitter
Like Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez has long been one of the better players at his position.
Like Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.
After an injury-shortened season in 2015, the designated hitter is making up for it this season. Martinez hit just .245 last season, but has upped his batting average to .319 this season. He’s also surpassed his 11 home run total from last season with 14 round-trippers this season. V-Mart seems to be displaying the same power he showed in 2014 when he mashed a career-high 32 home runs.
The 37-year-old has also driven in 40 runs and continues to be an extremely difficult batter to strikeout at the plate, with just 38 punch outs in 73 played.
Martinez has considerable competition with Boston’s David Ortiz and Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion serving as two of his bigger threats to make the team. Ortiz is in his final season and will get a high number of votes, while Encarnacion is currently leading the league in RBI. However, despite the two, Martinez should make it into the All-Star game given his excellent production so far during the 2016 season in a Detroit Tigers uniform.