Player Profile: Ketel Marte

Ketel Marte showed some promise in limited Major League action last season. What can we expect from the shortstop in 2016?

It’s difficult to project how a season will go for a player like Ketel Marte, who only played 57 games for the Mariners last year. He’s a young player who’s getting his first shot at the full-time starting job at shortstop for the big league club. His season could go in any number of ways, as many young players stepping into expanded roles for the first time have experienced for the past 150 years in Major League Baseball.

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Let’s break down what we saw from Ketel Marte last season. At age 21, Marte was promoted from the Rookie Leagues to AA Jackson to AAA Tacoma and eventually, to the Major League roster. He spent most of his time with Tacoma, playing there in 65 games and forcing then-manager Lloyd McClendon to bring him up to the Show with a .314/.359/.410 slash and 20 steals in 23 attempts. While McClendon had little to lose by bringing up the youngster by the final two months of the season with the Mariners out of contention, Marte worked hard to earn his shot at the Major Leagues.

And, surprisingly for some, Ketel Marte swum and didn’t sink. In the 57 games he played for the Mariners, he slashed .283/.351/.402. He’s never been much of a power guy, and he wasn’t used to stealing bases in the Major Leagues, with only eight steals on 12 attempts. Still, he showed enough to be the presumptive starter after new General Manager Jerry Dipoto sent 2015 Opening Day shortstop Brad Miller packing his bags for Tampa.

Ketel Marte actually stole the starting shortstop job from Miller late last year. While Miller wasn’t awful defensively, he still slung too many balls past the first baseman into the stands for McClendon’s liking. Marte was a mediiocre glove and arm at shortstop after he took over the job, and did enough at the plate to assuage concerns about his lack of power. Marte made nine errors at shortstop for the Mariners last season, but his work with the Mariners’ coaching staff figures to do wonders for his small lapses in concentration at short.

It’s impossible to know what Ketel Marte will do in 2016. Optimists will peg him for 15 to 20 steals because we haven’t seen Major League base stealing abilities yet, an average in the .280s, and mediocre but improving defense at shortstop. Pessimists, well…

Marte will need a decent start to the year to hold onto his spot at shortstop. Dipoto gave Mariners manager Scott Servais options in the infield if Marte doesn’t pan out. Luis Sardinas, who has hit .444 in 12 spring training games, could be waiting in the wings if Marte scuffles mightily early in the year (or later in the year, for that matter).

Ketel Marte offers promise as a possible top-of-the order speed guy who can bring some much-needed speed to the top third of the lineup. Marte is entering a season in which he will have to get used to new coaches telling him what to do. If he responds well in the field and continues to develop under hitting coach Edgar Martinez, Marte could be a hidden star for the Mariners in 2016.

Next: Player Profile: Kyle Seager

Let’s hope he can keep his confidence high early in the season and stay away from the Dustin Ackley syndrome of low confidence and overall awfulness.