WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2007
DSL:  220/307/288, 132 AB, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 BB, 29 K, 16-18 SB

Marte did little at the plate in his initial DSL season.  He played left field that year.

2008
DSL:  296/367/455, 257 AB, 10 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 16 BB, 53 K, 20-28 SB

After bulking up some, Marte made major strides in his second DSL season.  The weak plate discipline was in evidence.

2009
R:  000/000/000, 7 AB, 1 K
A:  312/377/439, 221 AB, 9 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR, 12 BB, 55 K, 24-31 SB
A+:  1000/1000/1000, 2 AB

The Pirates kept Marte in extended spring training and sent him to the GCL once its season opened, but after just two games he moved up to West Virginia.  He got off to fast start and never stopped hitting.  His OBP was buoyed by a dozen hit batsmen, and this was in less than half a season.  For his career he’s averaged one every 26 plate appearances.  He did well on the bases, but rarely walked.  Marte played some in right, but about two-thirds of the time in center.  His defense was spectacular at times, but at others he botched routine plays; had seven errors in less than half a season.  At year’s end, Pirates moved Marte up to Lynchburg with idea of him playing in Carolina League playoffs, but a sprained ankle in first game scuttled the plan.

2010
R:  346/393/692, 26 AB, 3 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 6 K, 4-5 SB
A+:  315/386/432, 222 AB, 16 2B, 5 3B, 12 BB, 59 K, 22-30 SB

Marte opened in center with the new high A affiliate in Bradenton.  He got off to an outstanding start, hitting .345 in April, but slumped in May.  The slump was probably due to a wrist injury that he tried to play through; he ended up having the same hamate surgery Pedro Alvarez had.  Marte returned in August and batted .358 for the month, so the injury seems to have had no lasting effects.  He hit for gap power, but had no HRs.  Hamate surgery tends to sap power, but obviously Marte had no HRs before the surgery.  He continued to walk only rarely, while his K rate of slightly more than one every four ABs was not alarming, but was a lot for a guy not hitting HRs.

2011
AA:  332/370/500, 536 AB, 38 2B, 8 3B, 12 HR, 22 BB, 100 K, 24-36 SB

At Altoona, Marte finally put in a full season.  Up to that point, he’d largely been dismissed by the minor league mavens due to the lack of power, but while he still has doubters, Marte forced his way into the top prospect discussion.  Except for a slump in July, his hitting improved throughout the season, culminating in a huge August line of 393/437/650.  He even started to draw a few walks, with seven against 16 Ks, although his season total was very low.  His power started coming around, with 38 doubles, eight triples and 12 HRs.  That last figure was four times his total from the previous two years, excluding two hit in a GCL rehab stint.  Marte finished with a .332 average, winning the Eastern League batting title.  His base stealing efficiency slipped, as he got caught in a third of his tries.  In the field, he had 18 outfield assists.

2012
A-:  000/000/000, 5 AB, 3 K
AAA:  286/347/500, 388 AB, 21 2B, 13 3B, 12 HR, 28 BB, 91 K, 21-33 SB
MLB:  257/300/437, 167 AB, 3 2B, 6 3B, 5 HR, 8 BB, 50 K, 12-17 SB 

Marte spent the season as the regular centerfielder for Indianapolis and was chosen by Baseball America as the league’s second best prospect.  He got some time in the corners in view of the fact that he wasn’t going to be pushing Andrew McCutchen out of center.  He started off somewhat slowly, but hit increasingly well, posting an OPS over .900 in both June and July.  His power continued to improve and his walk rate did, too, but his K rate also increased.  His base stealing technique continue to show a need for improvement.  The Pirates called him up in late July and he hit a HR on the first pitch he saw in the majors.  He continued hitting about the way his track record suggested, showing good power but struggling with offspeed stuff, leading to a lot of strikeouts.  He suffered a strained oblique in late August and missed nearly three weeks.  Clint Hurdle didn’t quite seem committed to Marte and benched him for a stretch in late September, a move explained only by a rambling, psychedelic Hurdle monologue.  Only the Pirates would call their best hitting prospect up and then bench him after they were out of the playoff hunt.  Marte played left and showed impressive range; his defensive stats were off the charts, although the sample size was very small.  His base stealing efficiency was about the same as in the minors.

Marte will be the Pirates’ starting left fielder in 2013.  He’ll probably also bat leadoff, which may not be an ideal spot for him.  He played well in winter ball and had a good spring, showing some signs of increased patience.  Hopefully, that’ll carry into the season.