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2007 Martinez`s been a reliable offensive asset in his three years as a regular, yet people somehow aren`t as excited about him as they once were. His interesting trends are an on-base percentage that continues to rise thanks to a slowly increasing walk rate and a slugging percentage that continues to fall due to a slowly dropping home run rate. They`ve basically balanced each other out, giving Martinez roughly equal offensive value over those three years. His defense, on the other hand, is continuing to regress. Baserunners stole on Martinez at will in 2006, racking up a major-league-leading 100 steals against him despite his second half improvement. There have been calls to move him to first base, but his bat wouldn`t be nearly the asset it is now if he is relocated from one of the weakest offensive position in the game to one of the strongest. 2005 If anyone is likely to sidestep the pitfalls of young catcherdom, it's Martinez. In his first year as a full-timer behind the plate in Cleveland, Martinez put his broad base of offensive skills on display, his 2004 looking like something out of the career of Yogi Berra—whose exceptional bat control he mirrors. Also like Yogi, Martinez's bat is a better tool than his glove. The high Collapse number above is a nod to the rough road traveled by young catchers and the frequent regression that occurs when a player has a huge year in his first full big league season. We're going to tell PECOTA to grab a Fresca and chill out on this one. 2003 That no one saw this coming contributed to Einar’s four-year deal with a club option for 2005. Then Martinez won the Eastern League batting title and MVP after winning the Carolina League MVP the year before. Scouts say his defense makes him an incomplete package, but he has good receiving skills; the perceived deficiency is all in his arm strength. In his brief cup of coffee this year, Martinez didn’t do anything to quell that concern, allowing 11 stolen bases and throwing out only 2 in his nearly 70 innings of work. The problem is whether there’s much to do for him; there’s a limit to how fast you can get rid of the ball after you’ve mastered your footwork, and if you can’t get it screaming to second, the speedsters are going to be able to steal on him consistently.
Beyond that minor concern, check out that hitting line, which is why Martinez is as good a catching prospect as they come. He’s not quite ready to take over the major league job, but he’ll be ready before long. 2002 The Carolina League MVP and organizational player of the year is a converted shortstop with an outsized defensive reputation. Martinez impressed the Indians with his handling of Kinston's pitching staff, which included some of the system's best prospects. He was 22 in the Carolina League, so a dose of skepticism is healthy. Like Josh Bard, he's going to make The Show; the only question is whether he'll be a decent starter or a career backup. How often does a team have two switch-hitting catcher prospects?
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