Position Report Card: Left Field

Starling Marte was not the only person to play left field for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, but he was their primary left fielder, so we're going to focus on him for this position report card.

Starling Marte, who now has 2 full seasons under his belt for the Pirates, enjoyed his best year to date this season, having career best numbers in many offensive categories. Marte set career marks for hits (144), doubles (29), home runs (13), runs batted in (56), walks (33), batting average (.291), on-base percentage (.356), slugging percentage (.453), and OPS (.808). Marte also improved slightly in areas of his game that need some work. He decreased his strikeouts and caught stealings in 2014.

Overall, Marte's talent is still very raw. He is only 25 years old and his game is only going to keep improving. Marte has the ability to become a 30 home run and 30 stolen base kind of player in the near future. If that is indeed the case, the Buccos are going to be in great shape at one of the most important positions on the diamond.

***Overall Grade:  B