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Sunday, March.17, 2013

The Arizona Diamondbacks will be able to use Martin Prado‘s versatility this season.He will provide some stability to the Third Base position for the team.  He has also saw playing time at 2B and LF during his time with Atlanta.  Prado is a consistent hitter whether there is a RHP or a LHP on the hill.  In fact he has a .300 Batting Average for his career against Righties.  Prado recently signed a 4 YR/$40 Million Contract with the NL franchise.  He is set to earn $7 MIL this year – followed up by 3 years in a row of making $11 MIL per in 2014 – 2016.

By Chris Lacey (Baseball Writer) Follow @aecanada12

The Arizona Diamondbacks made several moves this off-season. The roster is completely different from last season. They traded OF Chris Young to the Oakland Athletics for SS Cliff Pennington. The other trade that they made will have an impact on this season and the future of the team was sending OF Justin Upton, and 3B Chris Johnson to the Atlanta Braves.

The player they received from this trade was 3B Martin Prado. They also acquired RHP Randall Delgado, and three more Minor League prospects. The three prospects were Nick Ahmed, Zeke Spruill, & Brandon Drury.

Martin Prado 2012 Highlights. Mature Lyrics – Parental Guidance Is Advised:

Martin Prado has shown that throughout his career he can get XBH in bunches. Prado had 58 XBH in 2012.  Even more impressive is that he never tends to struggle at any time of the season.  Here are his monthly Batting Averages for his Career.  APR – .289, MAY – .303, JUNE – .332, JULY – .276, AUG – .308 and SEPT/OCT – .278.  Arizona saw 1st hand what the man from Venezuela could do, hitting for a 3 Slash Line of .373/.421/.987 Career vs the DBacks.  Prado has finished in top 20 NL MVP Voting in 2 of the last 3 years and is one of the most underrated players in the MLB.

They moved from a team that was dependent on HRs and striking out numerous times, to a team that will utilize speed to their advantage and putting an emphasis on making contact with the baseball. The team hit 165 HRs during the 2012 year. They were ranked 6^th in NL in this category.

The Diamondbacks as a team on offense Struckout 1,266 times during the 2012 season. This was not good as they were ranked 5^th most in the NL in this category. This was just one of the reasons why they acquired Martin Prado. They wanted to cut down on number of times they struck out and the put the ball in play more.

The acquisition of Martin Prado would solve their problem of  striking out too much and not putting the ball in play enough. Prado last season struck out just 69 times in 617 AB. Prado also had a OBP of .359. This shows that Prado knows how to get on base and he does not strike out often. Prado has also shown that he can be a versatile player for the team that he plays for. Prado has experience playing all the infield positions, and can also play in LF/RF. This type of versatility can be valuable to a team, because they have the confidence that they can use the player at any position needed.

Cliff Pennington will be relied upon to play solid defense at SS. Pennington has never been known for his offense, but he has been working on becoming a better hitter this Spring Training. Pennington best year came in 2011 where he had a three slash line of .264/.319/.687. He also hit 8 HRs with 58 RBI, to go along with 36 XBH.

Another value that the acquisition of Prado gives the team is that he can produce on offense. Prado has shown that throughout his seven years playing for the Atlanta Braves he can hit for a high average and get on base at a high rate. Prado last season had a three slash line of .301/.359/.796. Prado also hit 10 HRs; he had 70 RBI, and had 17 SB. He was also an extra base hit machine; he hit 42 doubles to go along with six triples. Prado also has a career three slash line of .295/.345/.780.

Prado also gives the team stability at the position as well. There has been a revolving door at the third base position for the Diamondbacks in past seasons. They have used Josh Bell, Cody Ransom, Ryan Roberts, Ryan Wheeler, Geoff Blum, & Chris Johnson. The main issue was that none of these players were able provide stability for the team.

Martin Prado will prove to a valuable player to the team by showcasing his versatility and his ability to get on base. Prado will also be valuable to the team because he is a team player.

Martin Prado made an ALL-Star team with the Braves in 2010 – when he hit .307 and scored 100 runs in 140 Games. He also finished in the top 10 for NL MVP voting that year. He is a perennial .300 with some pop. He has hit for a .300+ Avg. in 4 of the last 5 years.  He also finished 4th in NL Hits for the 2010 and 2012 years.   His Career 3 Slash Line is .295/.345/.780. Prado has only committed 15 errors in 190 career games at 3B, and he has a .965 Fld% at the hot corner.  He will be a welcomed addition to the Arizona franchise.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

A big thank-you goes out to our ”Diamondbacks Correspondent’ Chris Lacey. Chris has been a fan of watching baseball since the age of 13. Now he does like all sports – but his favorites after baseball are  hockey and basketball.  Chris is very good with computers and is a college graduate.   Chris is very active on Twitter and especially during the baseball season chatting with other Diamondbacks fans. Be sure to follow him and talk about the great game of baseball. Follow @aecanada12

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