19
2009
Is The Timing Right For Fernando Martinez?
An article by 
There’s a few stories out there today about how Ryan Church may be dangerously close to becoming a former Met. I’m not sure how to feel about that. One base running blunder should not be reason enough to get rid of someone and calling for his ouster. Would this even be a consideration if it were David Wright who missed third base?
While I disagree with those calling for Church’s head, I do agree he is on the outs with this organization. He never endeared himself to Jerry Manuel, and as his playing time decreased, so did his effectiveness at the plate and even in the field.
The Mets now find themselves with a sad collection of corner outfielders, None of them are solid enough to play everyday, with each only getting 2-3 starts a week at most.
Dan Murphy went from poster boy to bench warmer as his batting average declined. Gary Sheffield earns his playing time because Manuel wants a presence in the middle of the lineup. Fernando Tatis went from platoon leftfielder, to bat off the bench, to semi regular first baseman. Angel Pagan has now been thrown into the mix without any clear role, and we already discussed Ryan Church.
From the looks of things the timing may be right for a new direction. I believe we need to have some consistency in at least one of the corner spots. This mish-mash, pot luck strategy that we currently employ at the corners is not working.
I suggest we take a long hard look at Fernando Martinez. Out top prospect was expected to crack our lineup at some point this season anyway, so I say lets accelerate those plans a little.
F-Mart might be just the thing this team needs right now.
Currently, Martinez leads the Bisons in every statistical category. He is batting .289 with 7 homers and 24 RBI’s. He leads the league in doubles with 13, and his 71 total bases rank sixth. His .511 slugging percentage shows his power potential, and his current gap power would play extremely well in CitiField.
The left handed hitting phenom, has some interesting splits. He is batting .300 against lefty pitching, but most of his power comes against right-handers, hitting four of his five homers against them.
So far in May, F-Mart has taken his game to another level. His percentages are as follows: .333 BA, .389 OBP, .621 SLG, 1.010 OPS. In 19 games he has driven in 16 and scored 15 runs.
MLB.com writes this about F-Mart,
Many still believe Martinez will hit for average and power as he matures. Reviews are mixed, but most still like his bat speed from the left side. He’s got a good arm and played good defense in center this past season.The sky is still the limit. He’ll play at age 20 in 2009 and still has the tools to be an All-Star caliber outfielder.
Last year, Minaya was suggesting that F-Mart would be ready to make the leap to the Mets last August, but an injury foiled that plan. He said this,
“He might be better than anybody we could get in a trade. This kid is legit.”
If the Mets were so eager to promote Fernando Martinez to the big leagues last August, and now F-Mart has even more seasoning and has improved his batting eye and power numbers, then what are we waiting for?
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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I agree that the Mets need to do something quick, but I was think more of trading F-Mart for someone who is already in a position to help us like Nick Johnson or Carlos Lee.
But, considering how hot he is as you say, maybe we should at least take a look to see what he can do. I just hope the media doesn’t place all these unreal expectations on him because of the hype.
I loved this post and I wonder why Martinez isnt’t hear already. He might be a better option at leftfield than Murphy. He seems to have more power (7 homers). That figure would lead the Mets, plus he’s batting nearly .290 and I love all the doubles.
The 7 home runs is a misprint. He has 5.
Ken, he has seven homers. He had 5 going into today and hit two homers this afternoon off Clay Buchholz.
I say its time for a trade. I saw your gaudy stats regarding F-Mart. I noticed that you left out how often he strikes out. The Mets do not need any more 100+ strikeout hitters in the lineup. Although , he is worth looking at. Ryan Church would be first on my list to go. I would include F-Mart depending upon what the Mets got in return.Maybe the Nationals will take Church back for Nick Johnson, I believe Church was born to be a National in skill and temprement
I’m high on Martinez, but lets remember, these #’s are against AAA pitching. -Murphy will start to see time at 1b and again in the OF. -Jerry made it clear that for this road trip he was going to test Sheff and see how much he could get out of him and how well he’d respond to being our clean up hitter. -I agree with the comments about Church, I really like the guy, but Jerry doesn’t really seem to, and it’s his team, not mine, so he might be on the outs. I had thought in ST that jerry was just testing him and pushing him to be an everyday guy, but there does seem to be something going on between them. –Fernando will be up mid-summer, and more time to develop instead of playing once a week against major league pitching will suit him best. -Hang on, it’s a long season, but we’ve got the roster to make a go at it.
Robin, strikeouts? So you would pass on Ryan Howard, Josh Hamilton, Joey Votto? Outs are outs, look at production instead. Would you build a team around the most productive hitters or those who have the fewest strikeouts?
Your thinking is why Ibanez and Dunn are not Mets.
F-Mart hit two bombs today off of Clay Bucholz. Bucholz had like a .98 era entering the game…F-Mart seems to be heating up
Joe: Agreed, they should consider bring Martinez up. However, that all depends on Murphy and Church. If either. or both continue to struggle, and they have not replaced Delgado’s production, that will force Minaya’s hand.
If Nick Evans hadn’t gone off the deep end I think he’d been up instead of Pagan. The Mets cannot simply live with only Reyes, Wright, and Beltran producing. Castillo has slipped already, and Tatis is a nice weapon off the pine, not a starter.
The catching situation is a mess, and Gary Sheffield is 40. At some point they might have to rush the kid. I think Murphy’s D (or lack of) is starting to affect his entire game.
Rigth now, the Mets are in a state of flux.
There has been too much inconsistency regarding how the Mets OF has been run. I believe it is premature to bring up FMart at this point until what we already have is better sorted out. Pagan was just brought up and he needs to have a serious look. He can be a high impact player and needs to show he can play alongside Beltran without creating mayhem in the OF. If he can show a solid glove out there, he can become a solid piece of the lineup. That means one player probably needs to leave the organization. I think the least useful one is Murphy. Unfortunately with his demonstrated incompetence in the field, there is little value in trading him. Perhaps Murphy should head to AAA rather than bring FMart up. The Mets should concentrate on working Pagan and Sheffield into the mix with Tatis at first for the time being. Let’s concentrate on that and take a look at FMart later in the season. In the meantime, perhaps Church is a defensive replacement for the time being. If so, Reed may also be an excess player on this team. Jerry has his work cut out to devise a workable strategy for manning the field and the lineup. Jerry needs to show he can actually manage effectively.
F-Mart is 20. Let’s not rush to a decision to move him up. Its very early in the season, church may come around and I think Murph will get better as the season goes. Any talk of sending Murph down is crazy