Among the newcomers to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup this season is J.D. Martinez, who was signed to a one-year contract during the offseason after spending the last five years with the Boston Red Sox.
Martinez has been one of the league’s most feared hitters in recent years, but is coming off somewhat of a down 2022 season that saw his power numbers fall off a bit.
After struggling for most of Spring Training and getting off to a slow start in the regular season, Martinez has been swinging a better bat as of late. “Inconsistent. It’s pretty much the one word I can summarize it,” Martinez said of his performance so far.
“I’m not usually that inconsistent, or I haven’t been. I take pride in being a complete hitter, being a consistent hitter. I’ve taken pride in that my whole career.
“So something that, knowing me, and anyone that knows me, knows that I’m not going to settle for that. I’m going to bust my butt and do everything I got to do to be the player I know I can be.”
Martinez made multiple adjustments to his swing during the offseason and believes he continues to trend upward. “I feel a little more comfortable now,” Martinez said.
“I feel like early on, I was pressing a little bit and trying to do too much. I feel a little more calm in the box.”
Martinez is batting an overall .250/.309/.512 with nine doubles, two triples, three home runs and 14 RBI in 92 plate appearances across 88 games this season. Martinez’s 14 extra-base is tied with the Chicago Cubs’ Patrick Wisdom for most in the National League.
While his slugging percentage is up over 100 points from the previous year, Martinez’s strikeout and walk rates have trended in the wrong direction.
Dave Roberts: J.D. Martinez ‘absolutely important’
The Dodgers lineup has struggled with inconsistency this season, and manager Dave Roberts believes Martinez’s success will be instrumental to how far the team goes.
“Yes, he has to be,” Roberts recently said of Martinez being a key part of the offense.
“He’s going to be in the middle of the order, he’s going to have to get hit with two outs, he’s going to have to drive runs in, and he understands that. I’m not fretting. But to your question, yeah, he’s absolutely important to our offense.”
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