Some people have really soured on Fernando Martinez far to quickly. All I hear is that he's not hitting for power, or he strikes out too much, etc.. The problem with Fernando is not his bat, it's his health. For the past couple of seasons Fernando has not been able to stay on the field. Whether it be because of multiple hamstring injures or surgery on his hamate bone, Fernando has not consistently been able to stay on the field, and that's his problem. His bat however, is not.
No, the power hasn't emerged as quickly as we hoped, but remember, the kid was 19 years old playing in AA.. Take a quick look at these stats of Wright/Cabrera compared to Fernando at age 19. Notice the level at which each player played at.
Miguel Cabrera, age 19, A+: .274/.333/.421/.754
David Wright, age 19, A: .266/.367/.401/.768
Fernando Martinez, age 19, AA: .287/.340/.432/.772
So, just give the kid a second, he's been able to hold is own in a league where the average age is close to 4 years older than him, and doing so while not at 100%. Yet, his numbers still are better than the numbers that two young studs put up at the same age at lower levels.
And, yeah, I'm predicting a big 2009 for Mr. Martinez. I expect a Mid-May/Early July call-up.
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