The Texas Rangers had high hopes for center fielder Leonys Martin when they signed him out of Cuba back in 2011, and so far, they haven't seen too much from him at the big-league level.
Martin has done very well hitting against minor-league pitching, no matter what level he's been hitting at.
Now, 2013 seems to be the year to see what he can do as a full-time big-leaguer, even if it's as a platoon guy in center with Craig Gentry. Of course, this all assumes the fact that Josh Hamilton doesn't return to Arlington, which is a near-certainty at this point.
Martin hit .174 in 46 at-bats in 2012 and .375 in a very minimal eight at-bat sample size in 2011. But in his two minor-league seasons, Martin has hit .323 with 16 homers, 84 RBIs and 29 stolen bases with nearly as many walks as strikeouts.
He's done all he can at the minor-league level, reminiscent of guys like Chris Davis, Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz, all of whom had drastically different results once they reached Arlington.
It seems Martin is ready to play at the big-league level, and it's time for the Rangers to give him that chance.
