No one seemed more comfortable on the national stage last season than Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte, who was one of the principal drivers in the Diamondbacks’ run to the 2023 World Series.
Marte has carried his strong play into the new season, even as the Diamondbacks have scuffled through the first quarter of their title defense because of a series of pitching injuries.
Marte extended his hitting streak to a career-high 21 games with a single and a homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, surpassing his major league-record 20-game postseason streak set a year ago when the Diamondbacks beat Milwaukee, the Dodgers and Philadelphia to make the Series.
That Marte has sustained his level of play has come as no surprise to manager Torey Lovullo … or to Marte himself.
“I feel it because I want to do it,” said Marte, who earlier in the streak was seen entering the home clubhouse clad in a Bob Marley shirt.
“Ketel has been unbelievable,” Lovullo said during spring training, before games counted but after Marte’s continued commitment was apparent.
“He’s got this fierceness to him. He has a different look than I have ever seen. Not that it was ever sub-par. He was always engaged, but this year has been a little bit different.
“He is taking on a total different approach, where his practice is matching his game. He is practicing at a very high intensity. I’m really proud of him for that. It is not easy to do. He is playing as fast as he is in the game, he is doing that in practice.”
Marte is in the second year of a five-year, $76 million contract extension that will pay him $13.6 million this season. His contributions on both sides of the ball make that contract a bargain, especially considering it includes a $15.2 million team option for 2028.
Marte is slashing .291/.339/.523 with 12 doubles, 10 homers and 27 RBIs this season, and his .862 OPS ranked first among major league second baseman ahead of All-Stars Jose Altuve (.821), Marcus Semien (.777) and Ozzie Albies (.715).
Houston’s Altuve is the highest-paid second baseman in the game at an average of $31.5 million per year. Texas’ Semien averages $26 million a year, followed by San Diego’s Xander Bogaerts ($25.5 million), Detroit’s Javier Baez ($25 million) and the New York Yankees Gleyber Torres ($14.2 million). The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts makes $30 million a year, but he is a shortstop now.
Marte has done this sort of thing before. He finished fourth in the NL MVP balloting in 2019, when he set career highs with 32 homers, 92 RBIs and a .981 OPS.
Myriad injuries — back, wrist, hamstring, hip, hand — kept him out of 112 games from 2020-22, when he played both center field and second base and also was used as a DH to prevent further damage. Center field, especially, seemed to take a toll on his body.
Marte returned to second base full time last season, slashing .276/.358/.485 with 25 homers and 82 RBIs. He capped the return to full health with a 16-game postseason hitting streak in 2023, extending the major league-record run to 20 including four games in the 2017 postseason.
He homered against Milwaukee and the Dodgers in the first two rounds of the playoffs last year, then hit .387 with four doubles, a triple and three RBIs against the Phillies win the NLCS.
“When you are healthy and you know how to play baseball, you are going to be good out there,” Marte said honestly. “I like to compete. I’m the guy who likes to win. If I’m healthy, the team needs me. I want to continue to be there.”
Marte, 30, plays with a shortstop’s arm and range at second base, and his tools show. He is fifth in the NL among all players with a 2.7 WAR and is third with a defensive WAR of 0.9, according to baseball-reference.com. He was tied for sixth in the majors with six “outs above average,” according to MLB.com. Semien led with 12.
“We’ve watched him mature and grow up,” Lovullo said. “My gut feeling is he knows what he wants to get to and he knows what is going to get him there as quick as possible. It’s probably maturing.”
Marte’s locked-in approach during his postseason success may have fueled the fast start, Lovullo said.
“I think he saw that, too, and he wants to stay there,” Lovullo said. “He wants to continue to reach that standard. He knows how good he can be. It (postseason run) was awesome to watch. He was outpacing everybody.”
