Batting average can be a tricky statistic to predict. It can fluctuate wildly both in the short and long-term, sometimes for reasons outside the hitter’s control. The many factors that determine batting average have so far fallen in favor of Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez.
Martinez enters the day third in the American League with a .343 batting average. Any grumblings about a slow start after he went without a hit in his first two games in a Red Sox uniform were quickly put to rest. Martinez has been red-hot ever since, including at least one hit in seven of his last eight games.