The Detroit Tigers finished with the second-highest run total in the MLB last season. Much of that production could be attributed to Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez, both of whom are looking to continue their success in 2015.
Victor tore the meniscus in his left knee earlier this offseason and required surgery for the injury, which put his status for Opening Day in jeopardy. This occurred just months after he and the Tigers agreed to a four-year, $68 million contract following Martinez's stellar 2014 campaign where he finished second in the AL MVP vote and slashed .335/.409/.565/.974 with 87 runs scored, 32 home runs and 103 RBIs in 151 games.
The 36-year-old veteran told Chris Iott of MLive.com that he remains on schedule to play on Opening Day and he would like to get in two weeks of at-bats before then if possible. After he underwent surgery on Feb. 10, doctors set his timetable for return at 4-6 weeks, which was the best news he could receive for that injury. Martinez said he took 25 swings from each side on Monday while hitting off a tee.
"It feels good actually," he said, via Iott. "I didn't feel anything on both sides. So we keep increasing the amount of swings every day, keep doing the exercises and keep doing the stuff."
As for the other Martinez, J.D. had a breakout season in 2014 after batting .315/.358/.553/.912 with 57 runs scored, 23 home runs and 76 RBIs in 123 games. The 27-year-old was acquired from the Houston Astros before last year and proved his worth among a number of the league's best hitters, but is there a chance he slumps next season?
Tom Zahari of the Detroit Free Press weighed in on the topic:
"Martinez will not match all of his 2014 numbers this season, but he should match some of the important ones ... What I don't see Martinez replicating this season is his power numbers. He more than doubled his previous high in home runs at 11. An argument can be made that the power numbers should at least stay level because of Cespedes's protection, which could lead to an increased number of fastballs ... Pitchers realized that Martinez thrived on fastballs, so they started to throw him more off-speed pitches toward the end of the season. Teams will try to exploit Martinez's fastball success."
While all this is very much possible, many would be sure Martinez has been working this offseason on improving his ability to hit off-speed pitches, especially since he has become a top hitter in the Tigers' lineup. Not only that, [Victor] Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes and Ian Kinsler have far more credentials than J.D., so it's probable opposing pitchers will be focusing more on those veterans.
J.D. will see his fair share of pitches once Victor and Cabrera return to full strength.
