Martin's Troubles

Despite his two hits in last night's 9-8 loss to the L.A. Angels (one of which drove in two runs to tie the game in the 7th), Russell Martin is still hitting below .200.  His current line of .186/.329/.339 is reminiscent of his 2010 performance when he finished with a .248/.347/.332 line.  The only difference so far is that his BABIP in 2010 was .287 while it's currently sitting at .209. Perhaps a glimmer of hope?

Martin has always seemed to struggle with pitches down, and this year is no exception:

Russell Martin, 2012Martin has just one hit on a low pitch this season.  Since 2010, he's hitting .127 on pitches down with a .258 wOBA. His contact rate is also a weak 57.7% on low pitches, over 30% lower than pitches middle and up.

Pitchers are going to keep zoning in on that low zone against Martin unless he can make an adjustment. Between 2010 and 2011, 36.2% of all pitches Martin saw were down in or below the strike zone. That percentage is sitting at 38.1% in 2012.  Given his early struggles, it will likely go up over the rest of the season.