If you took a look on social media after Carlos Martínez pitched opening day, you’d have probably seen a fair share of this.
“We need a real ace,” “Martínez sucks”, “He isn’t ready for this.”
I’m sure if you had taken a poll, most fans had already lost hope in Martínez and what he can do for the Cardinals.
To be fair, it wasn’t the ideal outing for the Cardinals Ace.
But yes… He is the Ace. Despite his rough start, Martínez has shown how dominant he can be. Will his dominance continue? I guess we will see. But let’s take a look at how good he has been this season.
According to ESPN Cy Young Predictor, Martínez is ranked 4th in the NL with a CYP score of 37.7. That score would also rank #7 in the AL. I personally love using the CyYoung Predictor because of how accurate it has been over the years. Since 2002, only two times has the winner been outside of the top 3 in their respective leagues in terms of CYP (09 Lincecum 4th-NL, 10 Hernandez 7th-AL). From 2002-2017 the CYP leader won the Cy Young 24/32 times between both the AL and NL.
So basically, he is pitching pretty well.
He is currently 4th in the National League (tied for 9th in MLB) in ERA.
WAR – 4th in NL
H/9 – 8th in NL
SO/9 – 10th in NL
IP – 6th in NL
HR/9 – 3rd in NL
Right now, Martínez is dealing. But there is still part of his game that could be improved. As it sits, he also leads the NL in walks and hit batters. He has still managed to keep good statistics despite of this, but it could be a problem later on down the road. 6 of his walks and a hit batter came in his first start against the Mets, where he clearly had trouble with his command. Since this he has improved, but still has a tendency to give up too many extra baserunners. He has limited the amount of contact, but still puts guys on with the walks and hit by pitch. I can see him ironing out this as the season goes on.
Carlos is an extremely talented pitcher with the ability to throw 100 MPH, throw a ridiculous slider, and to strike guys out with ease. He is young, and has a tendency to let his emotions get the best of him, but if he continues his hot start, it won’t be long before the fans can’t deny it any longer.
Carlos Martínez is an ace… Deal with it.
Thanks for reading!
Aaron M.
Want to ask me a question to bring up on my new podcast? Email me at [email protected] or [email protected].
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Avid follower of the St. Louis Cardinals MLB organization. Love watching my Arkansas Razorbacks play (lose) every week. Fantasy football is about as far into the NFL as I dive.
