The Pros and Cons for Ketel Marte in 2024
Ketel Marte finished 2023 slashing .276/.358/.485 while hitting 25 home runs and driving in 82 runs. 2023 was a revival for what is a highly polarizing player. Marte has battled injuries for a good portion of his career, but when he is on the field, he is a darn good ballplayer. Marte is ranked as high as 49th overall (5th 2B) and as low as 155th overall (16th 2B) by expert consensus rankings. This is an astronomical gap and one that can spawn a lot of conversation. Is Ketel Marte worth the 1st pick of the 5th round or should we see him go as the 11th pick in the 12th round?
The Case For Ketel Marte
When you hear the name Ketel Marte, you don’t immediately jump out of your chair and think, “SUPERSTAR”. However, that title is given to few players anyways. What you are getting in Marte is a solid bat projected to hit in the two-hole in one of the most potent lineups in all of baseball. Just playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks should pique your interest (good outputs generally come from players on good teams), but sometimes we want more. Marte showed us last year that when he can stay healthy (he played in 150 games), he is a solid fantasy option. Marte finished with 422 fantasy points (20th overall, 3rd 2B) in 2023 after primarily playing at the keystone to preserve his health. I think it worked. Marte had a 16.8% strikeout rate (33rd overall), 10.9% walk rate (28th overall), and 3.9% home run rate (44th overall). The league average for these categories were 22.8% (90th overall), 8.6% (71st overall), and 3.2% (83rd overall), respectively. Marte also finished with a 4.9 WAR which was good for 24th overall in the entire league.
The Case Against Ketel Marte
The easy case to make here is health. Ketel Marte made his debut in 2015 and logged 57 games. He came back and played 119 games in his sophomore campaign but proceeded to only clear 100 games played two more times in a 5-year span. Marte’s statistical batting isn’t precisely eye-popping when looked at across his career. His 162-game pace for his career would yield a slash line of .279/.344/.454 with 18 home runs and 70 runs batted in. He would also average out to 80 runs scored with 57 walks and 107 strikeouts. No part of these numbers make you yell about how great Marte is. Especially when you consider that 2023 was the 3rd best year of his 9-year career. While his fantasy stats were among the top for second baseman last year, he lost his outfield eligibility after transitioning to the everyday second baseman. This was another draw as we all love players who can be plugged and played darn near anywhere.
My Take
Ketel Marte is a top-50 player and you could even talk me into ranking him higher than this. While he did lose flexibility and options at other positions, the numbers don’t lie. Sure, when you look at his surface numbers, he isn’t a “sexy” pick. However, he is consistent and will contribute to your fantasy team in whatever format that you play in. He should be taken as one of the top second baseman in 2024 drafts and truthfully, I would only take Mookie Betts, Ozzie Albies, and Marcus Semien ahead of him. The best part is that he is ranked nearly 70 picks later than these 3 players meaning you can stock up at other positions and still get a quality, everyday player in the middle of the 7th round.
