It’s no secret that Starling Marte has taken a step back in 2023. But, when the Mets needed him on Tuesday, the 34-year-old outfielder came through; a far cry from when he failed to produce in last Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee.
In New York’s 8-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on the Fourth of July, Marte went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, a walk and a stolen base. It was Marte’s first extra-base hit since June 24 and a pretty timely one, considering the Mets needed every run they could muster against a good Diamondbacks team.
“This game came down to home runs,” Max Scherzer said following the win. “I gave up solo shots and we had a three-run shot and a two-run shot. It goes back to my theme: Solo home runs won’t hurt you.”
He’s right. Marte’s home run ended up being a pivotal difference in Tuesday’s win. While the extra-base hits for Marte have been few and far between, his home runs this season have tended to come in clutch situations.
However, Marte hasn’t exactly been the most clutch hitter this season. In fact, he’s been quite the opposite.
Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic
After the Mets blocked Marte, who underwent offseason core muscle surgery, from participating in the World Baseball Classic, he got off to a hot start. Marte was hitting .303/.378/.485 with 10 hits in his first 33 at-bats. That was until he injured his neck. Since then, it’s been a relatively rough go of things for Marte, who’s hit just .250/.300/.321 with four home runs and 26 RBIs.
The bat speed is still there, which was evident by his fifth home run of the season. He went down and got a Zach Davies‘ changeup, and hit it 418 feet out to left field with an exit velocity of 105.6 mph. However, even with the bat speed there, the extra-base hits, particularly home runs, have not been.
Through Wednesday, Marte had a career-low ISO of .084 and his home run percentage has gone down from 3.6% to 1.6%. While his pitch recognition, especially in his late-inning at-bat against Devin Williams, has come into question, Marte’s strikeout rate is actually down .1 percent from a season before.
Marte’s had a confusing season, as his hard-hit percentage is up nearly 7% from a season before, but he’s also lifting the ball more and hitting fewer line drives. The one thing he is doing constantly, despite his struggles, is swiping bags.
Having a base stolen base threat like Marte, who is tied for sixth in the majors with 22 steals, was beneficial to last year’s team. That hasn’t been the case this season, as he’s mostly struggled in the No. 2 hole. It’s still early, but the Mets allowing Marte to figure himself out whilst batting sixth, has been beneficial thus far. That isn’t to say that Buck Showalter shouldn’t move him up if he’s able to turn his season around, but the evidence against Marte hitting second is pretty high at this point.
New York is on its first three-game winning streak in over a month and Marte has played a significant role in that, especially on Tuesday. It’s too soon to say whether this will be the start of them righting the ship and turning things around, but if this is the version of Marte they’ll see going forward, there’s a lot to be hopeful about.
The Mets don’t need Marte to hit 20+ home runs. They need him to get on base at a high clip and be a guy who can drive in the Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and even Daniel Vogelbach. He brought the fireworks on Tuesday, but right now, the Mets just need Marte to be a sparkler.
