Ketel Marte has been the Diamondbacks MVP in 2024. He has kept the team in the middle of a tight Wild Card race despite facing injury and underperformance on all sides. This morning is the final opportunity for Diamondbacks fans to get Marte to start in the All-Star Game.
If you have not already, vote for Marte Here!
While the D-backs have had contributions from different places on the roster this year Marte’s have been undoubtedly the most valuable. His 140 WRC+ ranks him 8th among all qualified position players in the National League. Most importantly it ranks him 1st among all Second Basemen.
Ketel Marte managed to get through the 1st round of All-Star voting ahead of the pack and qualified into the second round of voting. Alongside him was Padres “second baseman” Luis Arraez. Since his trade to the Padres earlier this year, Arraez has played very little second base, so much so that he is now qualified almost exclusively as a 1st baseman.
Reason for this was Arraez’s defensive play. He had ranked among the lowest in the league at second base, and on a team that is filled with talented middle infield options, the Padres opted to move him to 1st base.
A quick comparison on Baseball Savant shows you Marte’s excellent defense, in the 95th percentile of Fielding Run Value and 98th percentile in OAA at 9 Outs Above Average. This is compared to Arraez’s 3rd percentile of Fielding Run-Value and 1st percentile OAA at -10 Outs Above Average.
Arraez’s value comes almost soley from his increadible hit tool. Even this though has taken a hit this year. In 2023 he flirted with a .400 batting average season for much of the year, while in 2024 he is sitting at an impressive, but lacking in comparison .312 Batting Average.
Marte still aquares up very well, with a .287 Batting average, only .025 points lower than Arraez. Then compare that difference to some of Marte’s strengths, with Marte hitting 17 home runs before the All-Star break, compared to Arraez’s 2.
The difference in almost every category between these two players lean starkly in Ketel Marte’s favor, but the vote is still increadibly tight. During the last revealed voting update Marte held only a 10% lead on Luis Arraez, making it a very close race.
The voting concludes today, the 3rd of July at 9 am Arizona time. Any Diamondbacks fan who has not voted yet, and is still within the voting period should use the opportunity to give Ketel Marte a final push to the All-Star Game by visiting the page here!
Source link : https://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/arizona-diamondbacks-news/ketel-marte-s-last-push-to-the-all-star-game-01j1wd3cvcpb
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Publish date : 2024-07-03 10:57:57
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