The Cleveland Guardians lost against the San Francisco Giants on Friday, 4-2.
However, they remain the team to beat in the AL Central and one of the best in the American League.
Their success this season can be explained, in large part at least, by their trust in their young players.
Before going out and spending millions of dollars on free agents, the Guards prefer to develop their own stars with everything that comes with it: investment in player development, scouting, coaching, and a lot of patience.
Because of that patience, they have been able to enjoy solid production from Daniel Schneemann, Jhonkensy Noel, Tyler Freeman, Cade Smith, and most recently Angel Martinez.
Highly regarded inside the organization as a potential starting player for the future, Martinez is making sure to leave a lasting impression for as long as he is up.
“Angel Martinez looks really comfortable up here right now,” Guardians reporter @JL_baseball tweeted.
Angel Martinez looks really comfortable up here right now.
— Justin L. (@JL_Baseball) July 6, 2024
He has only played four games, but has the aplomb of a veteran and he has slowly been impressing manager Stephen Vogt.
In 17 plate appearances, he is hitting a robust .385/.529/.538, with a 210 wRC+.
On Friday’s loss, he went to the plate five times and was on base in four of them, accumulating three walks and a hit.
He has been so good (especially if we include his excellent .316/.416/.537 line in 114 Triple-A trips to the plate) that Vogt put him second in the lineup, behind Steven Kwan and ahead of Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor and David Fry.
If they remain patient with Martinez and stick with him even when he eventually slumps, the Guards might have a legit second-hole hitter for the foreseeable future.
NEXT: Stephen Vogt Opens Up About Guardians' Loss To Giants
