Ketel

Marte

One of the RBI for Marte is probably going away since it came on an error, but it doesn’t really matter. The 31-year-old was outstanding in 2024 while winning a Silver Slugger, and while Marte has had some strong campaigns followed by disappointing ones, he’s as good as bet to help fantasy teams at the second base position as anyone.

No surprise here after Ohtani wrapped up his sublime Dodgers debut with a stratospheric 1.036 OPS to go along with 54 homers, 59 steals and 130 RBI over 159 games. The other interesting note here is Jackson Merrill becoming just the 16th rookie ever to take home the honor since 1980. Here are the rest of the National League winners: William Contreras (C), Bryce Harper (1B), Ketel Marte (2B), Manny Machado (3B), Francisco Lindor (SS), Jackson Merrill (OF), Jurickson Profar (OF), Teoscar Hernández (OF), Shohei Ohtani (DH) and Mookie Betts (UTIL).

Ohtani, who is currently recovering from offseason shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, helped lead Los Angeles to a World Series title in his Dodgers debut where he finished with a surreal 1.036 OPS along with 54 homers and 130 RBI. Lindor turned in his finest season in the Big Apple to date, helping guide the Mets back to the postseason by posting a stellar .844 OPS with 33 homers and 29 steals over 152 games. Marte was limited to just 136 contests due to an untimely late-season ankle injury, but still managed to club a career-high 36 round-trippers for an Arizona squad that just narrowly missed out on a playoff berth.

The Diamondbacks need either the Mets or Braves to sweep the doubleheader Monday, so just in case this is the last time we get to talk about Marte: Good job. The switch-hitter ends the regular season with 36 homers, 95 RBI and a .927 OPS. Marte shouldn’t be counted on to be this good in 2025, but there’s plenty of reason for optimism for the 30-year-old going forward.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Marte, who is still having some trouble with his left ankle, was overdue for a night off. Kevin Newman is playing second base tonight.

It’s a curious decision considering the Diamondbacks are only up two games for one of the NL Wild Card spots. Marte had missed time with an ankle injury earlier in the month, so perhaps the team just wanted to give him a day off to ensure his complete health. Whatever the case may be, Kevin Newman will bat eighth and start at second base on Monday.

Marte is scorching with the bat right now, and this makes three straight games that he’s gone deep. It also extends his career-high total to 35, and he drew a walk and scored another run for good measure. Marte won’t come close to winning the MVP because of that one guy on the Dodgers and because he missed a decent amount of time, but it wouldn’t be a surprised if he received down votes for his work in 2024.

Marte’s home run was his 34th of the year. He hit a two-run shot off Joe Ross in the ninth inning. Marte’s previous career-high in home runs was 32 set in 2019. He’s hitting .296 with a .937 OPS and 92 RBI on the year and is the catalyst for the Diamondbacks as they close in on another playoff appearance.

Marte also drew a walk. The homer came in the first inning to give Arizona a 1-0 lead. That’s now 33 on the year for the 30-year-old, and that’s a new career high for the underrated source of power. Marte and the Diamondbacks are closing in on a postseason appearance, and he deserves a lot of credit for that accomplishment. Don’t forget how good he was in last year’s playoff run, either.

Marte isn’t injured, but Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo mentioned being careful with the star second baseman given the altitude in Colorado. We expect Marte to be back in the Arizona lineup Wednesday. He’s hitting .292 with 32 home runs and 87 RBI this year.