Taking a Look At Starling

There is perhaps no other minor leaguer in the Pirates' system with a higher celing than that of Starling Marte. From the time he was signed, the physcial tools seemed to jump out at anyone who watched him play. It was easy to start to project and see him being a big time major leaguer. After a few seasons, Marte is now within striking distance of PNC Park manning the outifled in Blair County Ballpark.

Through 29 games, Marte is hitting for a  .328/.356/.456 line at AA. In addition he has stolen 9 bases and driven in 16 runs. He is doing a good bit offensively. Really the one minus is that he has only walked 4 times, while striking out 23 times. His high OBP is pretty much strictly his hitting. As for his play with the glove, all reports have indicated that he is one of the best in the system. He has great range and could perhaps be big league ready with his glove and arm.

With Marte though there are a few questions that need to be asked. One is will he develop a little more discipline at the plate? Right now he does not have all that much and could get into trouble if pitchers start to adjust to him. On top of the plate discipline, Marte has not developed the power that many had predicted. Granted he still has time to grow, but looking even at the periphery numbers, the power really has not been there. Of his 41 hits, only 10 are more than a single.

In a strange note, the righty is also having a ton of trouble with lefties, which would be the opposite of what one would think. Against righties he is hitting a Ted Williams-esqe .407. Against lefties he is hitting only .154 in 39 at bats. That is an odd left/right split.

For Marte to make it to Pittsburgh in short order, he will have to continue to play great defense. That will definitely be a must, as the team has sort of valued that sometimes forgotten part of the game. Additionally he will need to work on his strike zone discipline and adding more power. Perhaps the power will come, though it might not be the amount that many had predicted when he signed.

Marte is definitely an exciting player. He can do a lot on the diamond and will be one to watch. Adding him to an outfield of Tabata and McCutchen would give them a ton of defensive range and a ton of upside.