Ketel

Marte

His on-base percentage is back below .300 -- he’s taken one walk all month -- and outside of a three-hit game on Tuesday, Marte has been extra-base hit or bust this month. The .295/.345/.524 May doesn’t seem like it fixed everything just yet. Marte did have the only one of three Diamondbacks hits that went for extra bases today, so at least there’s that.

Marte just crushed a 97-mph fastball, showing off 84.9 mph of bat speed in the process. That’s the 14th-highest bat speed on a homer this year, and Marte also checks in at No. 7 on that list at 86.1 mph (Nick Kurtz tops the list at 87.7 mph, followed by James Wood at 87.5 mph and Oneil Cruz at both 87.1 mph and 87.0 mph). Marte has 11 homers and 37 RBI through 58 games and still figures to do a little better going forward.

Marte was held out of Wednesday’s game due to tightness in his lower back and hamstring, they appear to have been only minor issues though. He’s right back at second base and in his familiar leadoff spot in the Diamondbacks’ lineup against Dodgers’ southpaw Justin Wrobleski on Thursday night in Arizona.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that Marte is likely available off the bench, but the team wants to exercise some caution and give him some time off to prevent the issues from getting worse. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Thursday’s series finale. Ildemaro Vargas is at second base in his absence.

Marte receives his first day off since May 17. He’s been one of the hottest hitters in baseball since that point, batting .377 (23-for-61) with five homers and 21 RBI during that 15-game stretch. It’ll be Ildemaro Vargas taking over at the keystone with Jose Fernandez covering first base in this one.

Marte’s prolonged offensive outburst continued in this one at Oracle Park as he recorded his ninth multi-hit performance since May 13, raising hit batting average from .215 to .276 during that 13-game span. The 32-year-old has been especially hot of late, batting .516 (16-for-31) with two homers and 10 RBI over his last seven games. He’ll try to keep things rolling when the Diamondbacks face the Mariners, his former organization, in a three-game road series this weekend.

Marte gave the D-backs a pair of insurance runs with a two-run homer off Erik Miller in the seventh inning. It was an absolute tank, 113.7 mph off the bat while going 452 feet to left field. The 32-year-old second baseman has been on a tear over the last two weeks, with eight multi-hit games in his last 12. Marte is up to nine homers on the season while slashing .273/.324/.478 with 34 runs scored and 32 RBI across 222 plate appearances.

Marte recorded his third consecutive three-hit performance, tallying a season-high four hits in this one, as he continues to snap out of an extended cold spell at the outset of the year. The switch-hitting 32-year-old fantasy star smacked a game-tying double into shallow left field in the fifth inning off Giants starter Landen Roupp before adding a two-run single to left-center field in the sixth against reliever Joel Peguero. He’s hitting a surreal .429 (26-for-61) with three homers and 17 RBI over his last 15 games.

Marte absolutely obliterated a two-run homer off Michael Lorenzen that traveled 424 feet with an exit velocity that measured at 112.4 mph. The 32-year-old also also singled twice and drew a walk. Marte has started to pick it up after a slow start to the campaign, and his .251/.308/.440 slash seems awfully like to be improved upon over the summer.

Marte has been sizzling at the plate lately, with Wednesday’s performance marking his fourth multi-hit game in his past six contests. He hasn’t been his usual self this year, with his walk rate in particular dropping meaningfully. With a track record like Marte’s, it’s usually only a matter of time until positive regression hits.