FanPost

Why JD Martinez should bat 5th and Torii Hunter should bat 6th.

With the Tigers suffering from injuries to a fair amount of their pitching staff (i.e Verlander, Sanchez, Soria) and their offense under performing, the Tigers need to score more runs. Also with the Royals deciding to play like the 80’s George Brett era Royals, the Tigers need to find a way to squeeze more runs out there currently anemic offense. One of the possible ways to create more runs for the Tigers would be for Brad Ausmus to have J.D Martinez bat 5th and Torii Hunter to bat 6th, while currently Ausmus has been hitting Hunter 5th and Martinez 6th. The first question is why, first Hunter. Torii Hunter is the old veteran that is supposed to be the soul of the clubhouse, yet a soul doesn’t create runs. Over this year Hunter has compiled a .347 OBP, .331 wOBA, and a 131 wRC+. Which are all average numbers for a corner outfielder. J.D. Martinez is a rookie, yet in his first 307 plate appearances, (which we tend to use as a bench mark for a player and how he has performed and how he will continue to perform), he has complied a .349 OBP, .392 wOBA , and a 150 wRC+. This means he is getting on base, hitting for decent power, and above average at creating runs, all at a higher rate then Hunter. If the stats aren’t enough to convince you, then perhaps a real in game situation will persuade you. August 14, most fans will remember Max Scherzer’s 14 strikeout tour de force of the Pittsburgh Pirates, yet twice in that game Victor Martinez was intentionally walked with men on base with less then two outs to get to Hunter. In both instances Hunter dug himself a hole by swinging at the first two pitches he saw, and consequently struck out, and in each instance J.D. Martinez was able to see more pitches resulting in a hit and RBI. I can see why it’s tempting to go with the wily veteran who one would assume would be better in the pressure situation, but Martinez is continuing to perform at a higher level and the numbers are backing him up.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.