D-backs infielder Ketel Marte starting to show improvements at the plate

Ketel Marte helped save the Diamondbacks in 2017.

After shortstops Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings went down with season-ending injuries, Marte came up from Reno and seamlessly replaced their production.

Marte entered 2018 as the starting second baseman after his strong second half. The D-backs were so impressed by their 24-year old infielder they gave him a five-year, $24 million extension in spring training through 2024.

Marte has struggled at the plate for the first two months of this season. He showed little power at the plate, and looked lost from the left side of the plate. Marte has hit .205 against righties this year, compared to his career .267 batting average against right-handed pitching.

In the early part of June, Marte has shown some positive signs at the plate. Marte hit two home runs in the Marlins series over the weekend and is hitting .412 through the first five games in June.

“I think what you saw from Ketel Marte towards the end of the year is what you’re starting to see right now,” said D-backs assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Doug & Wolf. “He’s a really talented player, he’s a guy we felt could impact the game on both sides but he’s really young.”

On the defensive side, Marte has not brought his struggles at the dish out to the field. Marte leads the NL in fielding percentage among second basemen at .995. Baseball reference also rates him as a 0.7 defensive wins above replacement (dWAR), which is well above the league average of 0.

Marte still has work to do at the plate. His .286 on-base percentage is below league average and he at times can appear over-aggressive at the plate. But if he’s able to adjust to how the league is now pitching to him, he could return to the level he played in the second half of 2017.