Seattle Mariners Ketel Marte: 2016 Shortstop Sleeper Pick

Seattle Mariners will begin the season with sophomore Ketel Marte as the starting shortstop. He looked good in 2015 and is a sleeper pick in 2016.

The Seattle Mariners lineup looked to be one of the best on paper. With three sluggers in the lineup, the team was fifth in home runs, but 20th in RBI. The Mariners finished 10 games under .500 and, as a result, the front office decided to make some moves. The team traded shortstop Brad Miller to the Tampa Bay Rays. This clears up a starting job for youngster Ketel Marte. In the small sample size, he had a good 2015 season and is a deep sleeper pick this season. 

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Marte spent more than half of the 2015 season with Triple-A Tacoma. In 65 games, he had 82 hits, three home runs, 29 RBI, 20 steals and .314. He then got the call and made his first major-league appearance on July 31. In 57 games, he hit two home runs, 17 RBI and .283 with eight steals. Because of the low amount of games, he didn’t register on the Player Rater.

He looked a little anxious at the plate. He had a 17.4 strikeout rate, 43.1 swing percentage and 27.0 O-swing percentage. He had a 11.1 strikeout rate in Triple-A last season. Though, was able to muster up a 9.7 walk rate and .341 BABIP with Seattle.

Ketel Marte is far from a power hitter. He is a contact and speed guy. He spread the ball around, 39.4 pull, 35.0 center and 25.6 opposide field percentages. His speed helped him run out some of those softer hit balls, 21.7 soft and 56.1 medium hit percentages. In a full season, he could reach 150 hits and 20 steals with a .275 average. That would definitely by worth a 20th round pick.

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The Mariners added even more pieces this offseason by acquiring Adam Lind, Nori Aoki and Leonys Martin to help Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager. Ketel Marte is one of those pieces as well. He was the leadoff hitter for 54 games, but will likely move back with Aoki on the team. However, that may not be a bad thing. Hitting behind Cruz and Seager, Marte will have his fair share of good pitches to hit. The 22-year-old is a top-20 shortstop and late-round sleeper pick.

Projections: 140 hits, four home runs, 50 RBI, 21 steals, .272 average

Draft: Round 21