The Yankees’ offseason signing of catcher Russell Martin didn’t draw a ton of media attention.
It wasn’t picked apart nor was it widely praised because ... well ... it seemed like a reasonable enough move. Martin would start behind the plate for a couple of months in New York while top prospect Jesus Montero could fit in a bit more marinating at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It all made sense.
Then the season began. And Martin is flat-out raking.
The 28-year-old former Dodger slugged his sixth home run of the young season in Saturday’s 15-3 defeat of the Orioles and collected his 15th RBI. He is now sporting a .333/.410/.722 batting line through 61 plate appearances and has even swiped two stolen bases in two chances. Only Matt Kemp, Lance Berkman, Joey Votto, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun, Jose Bautista and Alex Rodriguez have swung the bat better.
Dabbling in small sample sizes is always problematic, but it’s not like Martin has been a dud at the plate his whole career. He was one of the game’s best offensive catchers before hip problems derailed him in 2009.
If Martin continues to make noise, perhaps the Yankees will postpone the Montero Era until 2012.