Marte a sparkplug all over the field

Early in camp, players, coaches and front-office members alike expressed their excitement regarding a full season of Starling Marte in a Marlins uniform. When the organization dealt for the center fielder at last August's Trade Deadline, it was with every intention of exercising his $12.5 million club option for 2021.

Like he has all spring, the 32-year-old Marte put his tools on display in Friday afternoon's 4-2 win over the Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Here are three areas where Marte can impact a game:

At the plate
Marte's addition to the Marlins' lineup has been felt from the moment he connected on a go-ahead homer in his debut on Sept. 1, 2020. After he sustained a non-displaced fracture of his left pinkie in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series, the Marlins averaged just 1.75 runs per game, with two shutouts in the NL Division Series.

Whether he slots first or second in the order, Marte will provide an enticing mix of speed and power. According to Baseball-Reference, his 162-game average is 94 runs, 33 doubles, seven triples, 18 homers, 71 RBIs and a 115 OPS+ to go with a slash line of .287/.341/.450. Though his numbers dipped upon his arrival in Miami, Marte's track record speaks for itself.

On Friday, Marte opened the game with a single up the middle against 2019 All-Star right-hander Marcus Stroman and came around to score later in the inning on Jesús Aguilar's RBI single. In his second at-bat, Marte's hard-hit double-play grounder (93.1 mph) had an expected batting average of .390. During his final plate appearance -- this time against Mets late-inning reliever Dellin Betances -- Marte walked on five pitches. This spring, he is 7-for-17 with four runs, one triple, two doubles and one RBI.

2020 tidbit: 16.4% strikeout rate (21.8% MLB average)

"This has been fun for me to watch," Marlins general manager Kim Ng said during a Zoom call earlier this week. "I do feel like this lineup, we've got some length to the lineup, and I think more than people give us credit for. You watch Marte out there -- he's a pro in the outfield, at the plate. And [Corey] Dickerson had three hits the other day. It's helping people to imagine what this will look like during the regular season, provided everybody stays healthy."

On the basepaths
Once Marte reaches, his mentality is to get to second. He wasted no time following his leadoff hit on Friday, stealing his second base of the spring on the second pitch of Dickerson's at-bat. Marte advanced to third on Dickerson's chopper to short and raced home on Aguilar's knock.

For a club that would like to capitalize even more on its athleticism and show aggressiveness on the bases to create runs, Miami can turn to Marte as an example. Marte has scored half the time he has reached base this spring. In 2020, he did so at a 32 percent clip. In terms of taking an extra base, Marte recorded a 60 percent mark (the Marlins were league average at 42 percent). Miami ranked second in the Majors with 51 steals last season, with Marte going 5-for-5 in his opportunities with the team. He stole 47 during his All-Star campaign in 2016.

2020 tidbit: 89th percentile in sprint speed (28.5 ft/sec)

"Different perspective, [but I can contribute] not only on the field but also inside the clubhouse," Marte said via an interpreter during a Zoom call. "I try to push my teammates and make sure they're relaxed. But I consider myself a clutch hitter. I can hit a single, home run, and also steal some bases. I can help the team in many ways."

In the outfield
Before Marte joined the Marlins, five players started in center field. The two-time NL Gold Glove Award winner quickly provided stability at the position, appearing in the lineup for 16 straight games before getting a breather.

With Marte sandwiched between Corey Dickerson (Gold Glove Award winner) in left and Adam Duvall (Gold Glove Award finalist) in right, Miami's outfield expects to cover a lot of ground at Marlins Park. Dickerson and Duvall finished first and second, respectively, in outs above average in 2018 among MLB left fielders. According to FanGraphs, Marte added 13.5 runs above replacement (RAR) when combining batting, fielding, baserunning, replacement and positional factors.

2020 tidbit: 95th percentile outs above average (five)

"He's made some plays in the outfield," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said during a Zoom call. "It doesn't end up being an out, [but] he's kept plays to singles that are usually doubles. He had two in one game [earlier in the spring]. He's been really good at that, and played good defense out there. I think everybody knows he's a really good baserunner, and a guy that gets on base and does a lot of things. But that defense really is underappreciated."