MLB
3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 4/11/19
Always a threat to go yard, is J.D. Martinez worth paying up for against Aaron Sanchez and the Blue Jays?

J.D. Martinez, OF, Boston Red Sox

Price: $4,600

Aaron Sanchez is still only 26 years old, so all hope isn't lost for him, but his last couple of major league seasons have been rough. After showing some promise with a 4.01 SIERA and 20.4% strikeout rate in 2016, injuries limited him to eight games in 2017, in which he struggled to the tune of a 5.62 SIERA, 14.4% strikeout rate and 12.0% walk rate.

Getting healthy in 2018 didn't seem to help much, and over 20 games he notched a 5.10 SIERA with an 18.1% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate. 2018 also saw him allow career-highs in both hard-hit rate (33.4%) and fly-ball rate (31.7%).

He's only allowed 2 earned runs while striking out 11 through 11 innings so far in 2019, but that low ERA comes with a 4.49 SIERA, and while his 23.9% strikeout rate is backed by a strong 10.6% swinging-strike rate, his 10.9% walk rate still shows plenty of room for concern.

You can't afford to leave any room for concern with J.D. Martinez.

In 2018, he was second in the majors with 43 home runs, and he's already swatted three with 6 runs scored and 8 RBI this year. His 47.5% hard-hit rate is right in line with his marks from the last two seasons (49.0% and 44.9%), and since the start of the 2017 season he ranks 10th in average exit velocity among the 515 hitters with at least 100 batted-ball events.

Same-sided matchup don't tend to slow him down either, as he's posted a wOBA of at least .400 and ISO of at least .315 against righties in each of the last two seasons, so he offers his usual upside against Sanchez tonight.

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