Future Redbirds

I’m sure most of you have heard about Amaury Cazanas Marti by now, the Cuban refugee who allegedly has whip-like bat speed and legs the size of tree trunks. Is he 28 or 32? No one seems to know for sure, and when Marti is asked about his past or how he got here from Cuba, he’s mum. I can’t say I blame him, that’s a trip I’m sure took a tremendous amount of courage, and it was all in the name of pursuing a dream to play professional baseball here in the States. How many of us can say we’ve risked our necks in the pursuit of freedom and achieving a lifelong goal? Selected  in the 18th round of this past draft, he’s getting his oppurtunity, but does he have the goods to make it to The Show? I’m not too certain.

Marti’s debut was in Palm Beach, where he hit .282/.351/.494 in 85 at bats, pretty impressive. However, he struck out 26 times out of those 85 tries. He was promoted to Springfield, where he tapered off considerably, hitting only .227/.315/.394, but was hindered by an ankle injury. At the AA level, Marti continued to strike out in 30% of his at bats. To give him more experience, the Cardinals sent him off to the Arizona Fall League. He thrived in the there, tying for 6th in batting average (.345), and 4th in slugging (.571). His average was driven by a very high BABIP of .439, but still, give him some credit. He still struck out in 27% of his at bats, but for Marti it was an improvement. He would’ve played winter ball, but as a Cuban defector his visa is limited.

Marti has a very strong work ethic, everything I’ve ever read about him always mentions how much time he spends in batting cages or lifting weights. He’s very hungry to succeed, but his window is limited. Root for him, what it’s taken for him to get here is pretty inspiring stuff.

Here’s some numbers that may be of interest, based on his cumulative stats this season-

• HR/Fly park adjusted rate is 20.3%. (Albert ’s HR/Fly this season was 22.5% to give a little perspective.)
• Park Adjusted Isolated Power .196, not bad.
• 30% strikeout rate, simply hack-tastic.
• 7.7% walk ratio, not great, not terrible either.
• .28 BB/K ratio in the minors suggest he’ll have trouble cracking .250 in the majors.
• 49% of his balls hit on the ground, he needs to amend that.
• Small sample, but a possible lefty-masher -.333/.364/.603 in 63 at bats.

Add all this up, he could be an older Wily Mo Pena, only not exactly blessed with the same amount of thunder, and certainly not with youth on his side. But given his hunger, work-ethic, and raw athleticism, I wouldn’t write him off from joining the big club in the near future, maybe as a 4th outfielder. He’s likely to start the season at Memphis.