For five incredible months in 2019, it felt like Ketel Marte could not be stopped. It did not matter what a pitcher threw him, Marte was liable to scorch it. In the first year of the Diamondbacks’ post-Paul Goldschmidt existence, they appeared to have immediately found their middle-of-the-lineup replacement.
The storyline shifted dramatically in 2020. Marte’s production fell off in almost every way, most notably in the power department, and the Diamondbacks’ offense suffered for it. And so, for a lineup that likely will be comprised of many of the same names, rediscovering the Marte of old will be a priority for 2021.