J.D. Martinez Is Back | FanGraphs Baseball

As a hitting mechanics nerd, there are just a few gamers on my shortlist of men who I might like to get within the cage with and discuss their course of, growth, and mindset within the batter’s field. J.D. Martinez is one among them. He’s established a fame for himself as a cerebral hitter. It was a key purpose for his breakout season in 2014, his rebound in 2021 after a tough shortened season in 2020, and now his resurgence in 2023. Regardless of an IL stint earlier this month for a again concern, Martinez has destroyed baseballs lately and pushed his wRC+ as much as a 146 on the season. In Might alone, he posted a 172 wRC+ and .392 ISO.

His energy stroke is again after engaged on recovering it with Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc all through spring coaching and the opening month of the season. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya spoke to Martinez and Van Scoyoc in early April about Martinez shedding effectivity in one of the crucial essential elements of his swing: his hand row. Martinez pointed to a line of bodily compensations in his swing because of an ankle harm from the 2018 World Sequence that he reaggravated down the stretch in 2021. If you’re as in tune along with your mechanics and the place your barrel is in house as Martinez is, these little aggravations can considerably influence the way in which you perceive how your physique is shifting. Earlier than leaping into some video displaying how Martinez has modified since final yr with Boston, let’s check out some batted ball and efficiency knowledge that element how a lot better he has been this season:

These knowledge factors present that Martinez was already darn good final yr when it comes to high quality of contact regardless of not being the most effective model of himself. Solely three different gamers within the league have had greater jumps in xwOBACON from final season to this one, and none had higher than a .400 mark in 2022. To show it round and have his highest xwOBACON since 2017 (when he hit 45 dwelling runs in 119 video games) is exceptional.

After I wrote about Martinez’s signing throughout the offseason, I defined how a few of his misplaced injury got here from not punishing mistake breaking balls like he had in earlier seasons. In Ardaya’s piece, he notes that Martinez wasn’t in a position to regulate to completely different sequences due to the lack of effectivity in his higher physique mechanics. With Martinez turning that round, his efficiency in opposition to breaking balls has rebounded as effectively. Under is a desk detailing that development:

Martinez’s .630 mark within the coronary heart of the zone gained’t be that top when the season ends, however it’s proof that he has gotten his bat path again to the purpose the place he can cowl breaking balls and fastballs with arduous contact within the air. He continued to hit fastballs extraordinarily effectively final yr even with the general downward development, so a concentrate on extending his bat path to be extra adaptable to breaking balls made sense. When you have already got a blueprint for fulfillment, it could function a reminder for what you should search for once you’re struggling. Martinez might not precisely be considering that he must be higher in opposition to breaking balls, however his changes have led to it.

By way of plate self-discipline, there haven’t been any main adjustments year-over-year, and even in comparison with some other yr throughout his prime. Nearly all the things is consistent with his profession norms, from chase charge to swing charge. The one notable level is that Martinez appears to be searching what Statcast calls “meatballs” extra often. At 93.6%, he’s swinging at a career-high charge in opposition to these pitches. Given how a lot injury he has completed within the coronary heart of the plate, that tracks effectively!

Now, let’s get to his mechanics. Since Martinez and Van Scoyoc have been centered on the fingers, we’ll do the identical. Generally entrance going through video is difficult to come back by, however fortunately Craig Hyatt has been on prime of it. The primary swing right here is from final season, whereas the second is from this season:

Martinez HR! pic.twitter.com/UIOXIKoe6q

— Craig Hyatt (@HyattCraig) October 6, 2022

J.D. Martinez – Los Angeles Dodgers pic.twitter.com/ppokOT77Xb

— Craig Hyatt (@HyattCraig) January 1, 2023

The primary video comes from October of 2022. Martinez had been a lot better on this month than in earlier ones, so he was monitoring nearer to his peak self, however there are nonetheless notable variations. It’s a disgrace we don’t have entry to extra video like this because it’s the easiest way for instance adjustments in higher physique mechanics, however that’s okay. This is sufficient to present how nonetheless Martinez’s head and entrance aspect keep as his fingers undergo their course of. This barely quieter motion appears extra easy. When hitting and pitching coaches discuss effectivity, one straightforward method to see if an athlete is shifting extra effectively is that if it appears easy. Easy actions are deceiving for athletes this highly effective. You would possibly suppose the hitter (or pitcher) appears like they aren’t making an attempt, however that’s as a result of all the things is sequenced completely.

In that very same interview with Ardaya, Martinez mentions nonetheless having the ability to get by with the mechanics he had his previous couple of seasons in Boston. He was proficient sufficient to routinely beat fastballs and be an above-average hitter, however he wanted one thing else to make him smoother and extra adaptable. By specializing in his hand row earlier than making his ahead motion, his hips are not sliding ahead too early in his swing.

Hip sliding is a bat path killer. When your heart of mass drifts ahead earlier than you create separation along with your higher physique, your bat path is lower off and also you change into a extra one-dimensional hitter. It decreases the size of stretch you may make in your physique as you’re ready to tug the set off. The longer you may maintain your athletic stretch, the extra room you may have for releasing a fast snap. Or put one other method, the extra adaptable to completely different pitch speeds you might be. This alteration has helped Martinez keep on elite backdoor sinkers, as he did when he hit this 105-mph line drive in opposition to Michael King:

Or sliders, as with this 104-mph line drive in opposition to Spencer Strider:

Or changeups, like when he stayed on this Josh Fleming providing lengthy sufficient to smoke it to the pull aspect:

That is Martinez’s recreation – scorching offspeed and breaking balls to the left half of the sphere, and fastballs from the massive gaps in direction of proper subject. By higher aligning his fingers together with his hips, he’s in a greater place to make barrel and physique changes relying on pitch pace and peak.

We’re witnessing the most effective model of Martinez now we have seen in years. From a batted ball perspective, he’s all the way in which again. His stroll charge is likely to be beneath 6% for the primary time in a very long time, however the high quality of his contact is greater than sufficient to make up for it. Assuming he can keep wholesome for his new membership in LA, this one-year deal is shaping as much as be top-of-the-line signings of the offseason.