This is the version of Angel Martínez that Guardians fans have been waiting for 

It’s finally happening. 

After two years of struggles, misuse and teases of potential, Angel Martínez is a productive player for the Cleveland Guardians. 

Took long enough. 

While Martínez was always going to be a work in progress last season as he transitioned to becoming a full-time outfielder for the first time in his career, he graded out as one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball and only hit .224 at the plate. 

But he’s been able to put those struggles behind him through the first two weeks of this season, and has served as a much-needed engine at the bottom of the Guardians’ lineup. 

Angel Martínez has picked up the slack for the Guardians’ offense so far this season 

Martínez entered the weekend slashing .310/.412/.483 with one home run, four RBI, two steals and two doubles through 11 games while playing at all three outfield positions. 

That defensive position is perhaps the most encouraging part about the start of Martínez’s season, as only one of those appearances came in center. 

He made 114 appearances in center field last season (thanks in large part to the abundance of injuries the Guardians had on their roster) but was worth -9 Defensive Runs Saved, which was among the worst numbers in baseball for a full-time outfielder. 

He’s much better suited for a corner outfield spot since he has a plus-arm and would have less room to cover, and he’s been free to do that this season thanks to Steven Kwan moving to center field. 

That defensive production has also come at a time when the switch-hitter seems to finally be settling in against major league pitching. 

After going 3-for-21 at the start of the season, Martínez went 6-for-8 in the two games he played against the Royals during the week. Four of those hits came in Wednesday’s season finale, with the big blow coming in the form of an eighth inning grand slam that secured Cleveland’s blowout win. 

That’s corresponded with an increase in production against right-handed pitchers, whom he’s gone 6-for-18 against this year after hitting just .197 against them last year. 

He’s also whiffed on just 14% of his swings this season (93rd percentile) after posting a whiff rate of 21% last season, and also has a stellar expected batting average of .301.

Martínez is a huge part of the Guardians’ future and it seems clear that the Guardians really like him, but it got to a point last season where there were genuine questions about whether he should be in the lineup everyday. 

But he initially silenced all those questions with a stellar spring training where he hit four home runs in 18 games, and he’s carried that momentum into the start of the regular season. 

Although there was never a point where his skillset was ever in question, there were legitimate concerns about if the Guardians would ever be able to figure out how to correctly use it. 

If the first two weeks of the 2026 season are to be believed, it seems like we’ve finally got an answer to that question.