3 Takeaways From Pittsburgh Pirates 4 Game Sweep Of The Reds

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PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 06: Jason Martin #51 of the Pittsburgh Pirates singles in the first inning for his first major league hit during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on April 6, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Jason Martin impresses in his debut series

While the Pittsburgh Pirates are off to a good start, they have been hit hard by the injury bug. 20% of the team’s projected 25-man roster is currently on the injured list. This includes a trio of outfielders in Corey Dickerson, Gregory Polanco, and Lonnie Chisenhall.

While Polanco and Chisenhall started the season on the IL, Dickerson joined them on Thursday with a shoulder injury. All of these outfield injuries opened the door for outfield prospect Jason Martin. Martin was promoted to the Majors for the first time on Friday and he went on to have an impressive weekend.

Martin started in left field on both Saturday and Sunday. This included batting lead off for the Pirates on Saturday afternoon. In his first two career games Martin went 3-for-6 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and his first career RBI. He also looked comfortable manning the challenging PNC Park left field.

Moving forward, Martin could begin to carve out a role for the Pirates. Fans could, and honestly should, see a lot of Martin in the starting lineup until the team starts to get healthy in the outfield. Even once the outfield is healthy again, Martin should still have a role on the Pirate bench. With his strong performance in Spring Training, at Double-A in 2018, and now his strong start to his MLB career, Martin is making his case to be part of the team’s future.

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