7 years agoSt. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jose Martinez hit .309/.379/.518 in 307 plate appearances in 2017, and although he doesn't have a clear path to playing time this season, there are reasons to believe his performance last year can be repeated. Despite the fact that he'll turn 30 this summer, Martinez had elite plate command in 2017. He ranked fifth in all of baseball only behind Aaron Judge, Joey Votto, Mike Trout and J.D. Martinez, in wOBA, which accounts for quality of contact and amount of contact. Injuries have mainly held Martinez back in his career, and he hadn't reached double-digit home runs until 2015. The main key for Martinez was that he stopped hitting balls on the ground, and his 90.6 mph average exit velocity was in the top 20 in the majors in 2017. It looks like there's a decent chance Martinez will once again be an elite bat in 2018 as long as he doesn't get injured, but playing time is the main concern for fantasy owners with Marcell Ozuna, Tommy Pham and Dexter Fowler locked in as starters in the outfield. Still, Martinez is an intriguing player that would be a great flier in the later rounds in deep mixed and NL-only leagues for depth.--Keith Hernandez - RotoBaller
Source: MLB.com - Mike Petriello