Buck Showalter believes that Starling Marte has “very quietly” posted a strong first year with the Mets, but those feelings are getting louder by the day.
Marte rapped three more hits in Thursday’s 10-0 win over the Marlins at Citi Field, boosting his batting average to .322 since May 1 and to .294 overall this season with 40 RBIs and 50 runs scored two games past the 81-game midpoint of the season.
“He’s a guy that we’ve all really worked hard to get to know and see what he needs from us,” Showalter said. “Starling just likes to play right field, fine, stay there. Hit second, stay there. He likes structure and knowing what’s coming.
“A very consistent approach, picks his spots, uses his speed. He’s just been very consistent.”
Marte, who was signed to a four-year contract worth $78 million as a free agent to essentially replace Michael Conforto in right field, remains a voting finalist for the National League starting outfield for the upcoming All-Star Game. But he’s currently trailing Mookie Betts and Joc Pederson for the final two starting spots behind No. 1 vote-getter Ronald Acuna Jr.
Marte’s seventh three-hit game with the Mets featured singles in the first and fourth innings against Marlins starter Daniel Castano and another in the fifth against reliever Jimmy Yacabonis to extend his hitting streak to seven games (.429), matching his longest of the season.
The two-time Gold Glove Award winner also recorded an outfield assist, his sixth of the year, when he nailed Jesus Aguilar attempting to advance to second on a single that had ricocheted off second baseman Jeff McNeil toward the right-field line to end the seventh inning.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who had Marte on his team last year before a midseason trade to Oakland, agreed with Showalter’s assessment, saying the outfielder is “low maintenance” and “comes every day ready to play.”
“I definitely think he’s under the radar,” Mattingly said. “He’s not a guy who’s worried about the bat-flips, or any of that stuff. He’s not out banging his own bell or anything like that. He’s just coming to play the game … I’d say quiet is definitely a good word.
“There’s just so many things to like about Starling, and he is that quiet leader. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he gets after it every day, he works, and those kind of guys are big in your clubhouse.”