Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez had batted either fourth or fifth in his first 26 starts this season, but he is 2-for-25 with 16 strikeouts in his last six games and so the 27-year-old is getting a demotion of sorts for Wednesday night’s game against the White Sox.
Here is the Detroit starting lineup for Wednesday, with Martinez hitting sixth and left fielder Yoenis Cespedes getting the bump up to the fifth spot …
5/6 @Tigers lineup vs CWS Davis CF Kinsler 2B Cabrera 1B V Martinez DH Cespedes LF J Martinez RF Castellanos 3B McCann C Iglesias SS Simon P
— MLBLineups (@mlblineups) May 6, 2015
Martinez was a breakout star in 2014 at age 26, batting .315/.358/.553 with 23 home runs and 76 RBI in 123 games for Detroit. But he also showed flashes of promise during his time with the Astros before eventually falling back to earth. The former 20th-round pick is a .269/.315/.443 career hitter in the major leagues.