Starling Marte’s Power And Fielding Struggles Analyzed

One of the biggest moves the New York Mets made two offseasons ago was signing veteran outfielder Starling Marte during free agency. In December of 2021, New York brought Marte to Flushing on a four-year, $78-million deal. Year one of that said agreement was terrific. This season? Not at all so far.

In his first year (2022) with the Mets, Marte was selected to his second-career All-Star game. The then 33-year-old slashed .292/.347/.468 which was good for a superb .814 OPS. Marte launched 16 home runs, drove in 63 runs, and stole 18 bases.

Coincidentally enough, as soon as he got hurt late in the season courtesy of a hit by pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Mets’ season started to unravel. Starling was able to return during the Wild Card round against San Diego, but certainly was not fully recovered as he struggled immensely (2-for-12). New York ultimately lost the division lead and got bounced against those said Padres.

This season, Marte looks nothing like the player he was during the regular season in 2022. Offensively, through 41 games and 147 at-bats he is slashing a meager .231/.298/.279 (.577 OPS). This is a staggering .237 less than his superb OPS figure from last season.

What is the most alarming statistic of all centers around Marte’s lack of power. As of May 19, Starling is 19 games removed from his last extra-base hit. Who are the previous Mets’ players to go at least 26 games without an extra-base hit (79 plate appearances minimum)? Omar Quintanilla, Luis Castillo, Kazuo Matsui, Joe McEwing, Jeff Duncan, and Rey Ordóñez. Not a list you want to be on.

For a guy who has made a living throughout his career on extra-base hits, it is extremely alarming that he only has five (four doubles and one home run) so far this season. This troubling phenomenon is further evident by his expected slugging number which has dropped from the league’s 70th percentile last year to the 36th percentile this season. So, despite somewhat being the case earlier this season, bad luck is not to blame for Marte’s struggles.

Unfortunately for both Marte and the Mets, offense is not the only part of his game that has fallen off. Last season, Marte ranked in the league’s 31st percentile in outs above average (OAA) and 58th percentile in outfielder jump. This season, those percentile rankings have fell to the league’s fifth and 12th percentiles, respectively.

Further, in 2022 Marte owned a plus-4 defensive runs saved (DRS) and negative-2 OAA. This year those have fallen to a negative-3 DRS and negative-4 OAA. Not only has his offensive game took a hit, but his play in the field has tailed off as well.

Simply put, the 34-year-old is struggling everywhere.

Final Thoughts

If you want to look at the bright side, Marte is slowly picking it up in terms of base hits. Since May 9, Marte is 11-for-39. This is good for a .282 average.

Of course, all 11 of those tallies were singles, but, it’s good to see the average trending back up after it was at a season low of .216 at one point. Starling is also still swiping bags when he reaches base. The veteran has 11 stolen bases this season which ranks sixth in the National League. Another thing trending in the right direction.

Of course, it’s never good to see a 34-year-old, big-money veteran struggling so much. There is always risk for eventually regression as a player approaches the twilight of their career. However, after the season Marte posted last year, regression this steep, is extremely surprising.

Additionally, although age 34 is getting up there in baseball terms, several players have been be very useful at this age, especially those who were fringe All Stars for a majority of their career like Marte. Not to mention, Marte posted such solid numbers less than a year ago.

Marte is slowly picking it up from an average standpoint and he is steal lethal on the base paths with those veteran legs. There was also flashes of his old self, especially early on, when he was actually hitting into bad luck. Only a year-plus into his big money deal, general manager Billy Eppler and crew are certainly hoping this situation rights itself sooner rather than later.