J.D. Martinez


Even with all the buzz surrounding Sonny Gray, Jose Quintana and Justin Verlander, this hard-hitting outfielder might prove to be the best mid-season trade pickup around baseball.
Monday, as Arizona beat the Dodgers for their 11th straight victory, he became the 18th player ever to hit four home runs in a game. And he did it the most difficult way possible: after striking out in his first at-bat, the Miami native homered his next four times up. His history making finale was a two-run shot off Wilmer Font. (The earlier ones came off Rich Hill, Pedro Baez and Josh Fields.)
A promising prospect who struggled in parts of three seasons with the Astros, Martinez turned his career around only after being released by Houston. Since signing with the Tigers in 2014, he hit his stride as a consistent power-hitter, who batted .280 or better. A pending free agent, he was sent to Arizona earlier this season. Since then, he's teamed with Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb to give the Diamondbacks a powerful heart of the batting order.
Seen here against the Mets in August, Martinez is the second player this season with a four-homer game. The first was the Reds' Scooter Gennett, who did it against the Cardinals on June 6th.

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