Russell Martin Has Found a Home in Toronto

After finding success on three other teams prior to 2015, Martin fit perfectly into an already staggering Blue Jays lineup. The Toronto-native hit a career high 23 home runs in his first season on the Jays. While Martin's average dipped .50 points from his 2014 campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, his RBI, runs, and extra base hit totals were the highest they’ve been since his early years in Los Angeles.

With Josh Thole backing him up, we can expect Martin to play a bulk of the games behind the plate, and again reach well over 400 at-bats. It also helps when you have Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki, and Edwin Encarnacion batting ahead of you in the order. Martin is an occasional stolen base threat, attempting nine total last season, and has the potential to get his OBP around .400 if he limits the strikeouts. The only thing worrisome about Martin is his tendency to hit for a low average, as he’s batted.250 or lower in six of ten seasons. But this will be overshadowed by the power he can provide from the catcher position. Martin is ranked third among catchers on Rotoballer.
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