McAdam: J.D. Martinez helping launch Mookie Betts to new heights

When the Red Sox got through with their winter-long dance with free agent J.D. Martinez, Alex Cora predicted that the newest member of the team would generate more talk -- in the dugout, in the clubhouse, anywhere players gathered -- about hitting.

Martinez is notorious for his preparation and studious nature. He carries notebooks, crammed with information about his own at-bats, opposing pitchers and anything else that might aid him at the plate.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before Cora could report that the chatter about hitting has indeed increased thanks to Martinez.

What he couldn't have predicted, however, was the impact Martinez could have on one Red Sox hitter in particular. Martinez has become a mentor of sort for Mookie Betts, a sounding board with whom he exchanges ideas, suggestions and general observations.

And five weeks into season, the student isn't just learning his lessons. He's outperforming his teacher.

For the second time in two weeks Wednesday, Betts had a three-homer game. That gave him nine homers in his last 12 games and 22 extra-base hits in his last 26 games. He now leads the American League in homers and the majors in runs scored.

In short, there seems little that Betts can't do.

Of course, it's not as if this growth at the plate has come out of nowhere. Just two years ago, Betts was narrowly beaten out for American League MVP by Mike Trout, who's acknowledged as the best player in the game. And last season, even in something of an off-year, Betts still managed to lead the Red Sox in virtually every significant offensive category and still finished sixth in the A.L. MVP balloting.

But this season, Betts has ascended. Freed from the conventional approach normally associated with leadoff hitters, Betts has turned more aggressive, hunting hittable pitches earlier in the count. And he's flipped some sort of switch with his power. After a career-best 31 homers in 2016, he's currently on a pace to hit nearly double that total.

Martinez watched Betts from some distance the last few seasons and recognized his immense talent and potential. But as a teammate and something of a confidant, he's witnessed Betts evolving as a hitter.

"When we first started talking in the spring,'' said Martinez after the Sox closed out a homestand with a 5-4 win over Kansas City, adding a homer of his own to go with three from Betts, "it seemed like he kind of didn't know. He was kind of searching for feel. He was more of that 'feel' hitter. 'This feels right...this is what I do.' And then you kind of get to talking to him and have him expressing his thoughts and for me, he's hungry for information. He wants information. He's always talking about hitting. Every time I'm next to him, he's always in my ear, talking about hitting, talking about hitting. It just seems like to me, I can relate to it a lot, because he's not satisfied. I love that about him. That's what makes him special.''

Well, that and incredibly fast hands, a quick-twitch ability and improved pitch recognition.

Martinez is self-diagnostic at the plate, able to spot the smallest of changes in his swing and make adjustments before a few poor at-bats snowball into something more concerning.  He was in the process of remaking himself as a hitter when he was designed for assignment four years ago, and since then, has been among the most productive and consistent hitters in the game.

He credits much of his career turnaround to his reliance on launch angle, and changing his swing into a slight uppercut, with which he powers pitches. He's shared that with Betts, and in tandem with the increased aggression Betts has shown, it's elevated -- quite literally -- him at the plate.

"He's kind of gravitated toward me in that direction,'' said Martinez. "Seeing little simple things in his swing that can make him so much better. He's loved it. He eats it up. He studies it after every at-bat. It's 'Hey, did you see that? Why do you think I missed that pitch?' (I tell him) 'Well, you did this and that.' And he's like, 'Oh, I see it, I see it.' And I'll see him in the cage, working on (that particular element). You can tell somebody one thing, but for someone to go out there and be able to translate it on the field that quickly, it's special.''

After a slow start in the first week, Martinez has provided exactly the kind of production the Sox had hoped. He leads the team in RBI and is second in homers and batting average. He's had the effect of making the Red Sox lineup, at once, deeper and more feared.

As a bonus, he's had a huge impact on Betts, providing his teammate with just the right feedback and guidance to make an already very good hitter great.