J.D. Martinez had a game for the ages last Sunday

J.D. Martinez earned one of the greatest hat tricks you’ll ever see. Chris Sale officially became the only reason the White Sox are worth watching once every five games. The Marlins have been completely damned. Byron Buxton probably wished his first two weeks in the majors weren’t as painful, literally and figuratively. Lastly, the Mets join in on the league’s call-up hysteria with two of their own.

This is The Week That Was.

Man on Fire

During a 12-4 Tigers’ win against the Yankees last Sunday, J.D. Martinez achieved a hat trick of the non-strikeout variety.

Have a day, J.D. Martinez! He just hit his THIRD HR of the game and has now driven in SIX runs.

— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) June 21, 2015

That’s right…”J-Mart” (a nickname I totally made up just now) went yard thrice and drove in six runs! The first one came off Masahiro Tanaka with two outs in the first inning. Tanaka gave up another homer to Martinez when he led off in the fifth, after striking out in the third. Martinez’s final bomb was a “welcome to the majors” smash in the sixth with two men on base against newbie Danny Burawa, who was making his MLB debut.

Yesterday, J.D. Martinez became 1st opposing player to have 3 HR & 6 RBI on road vs Yankees since @BoJackson in 1990!

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 22, 2015

Martinez put on a fireworks display that made Father’s Day look more like Independence Day in the Bronx. His shot to tie the record for the most dingers in a game came in the eighth inning against Jose de Paula, who was also making his major league debut. The result was a pop up to right field after Martinez hit a pitch outside the strike zone.  Overall, Martinez’s performance fueled a stunning offensive showcase that snapped a four-game losing streak for the Tigers.

All Hail Sale 

Chris Sale had his seventh straight double-digit strikeout game on Wednesday. However, he managed to barely miss beating Randy Johnson’s and Pedro Martinez’ record of five straight games with at least 12 strikeouts. Plus, the scorching lefty couldn’t even get the win since Minnesota beat them 6-1 anyway.

While Sale did fan 10 and gave Twins leadoff hitter Byron Buxton a golden sombrero, he still allowed eight hits, five earned runs and six total runs on the day. The Twins seem to have Sale’s number as the pitcher now sports a 6.46 ERA and a 1-3 record against the club.

-This GIF can be found on Pitcher List

…Can’t say I’ve ever seen a major league hitter strikeout while being hit by a pitch before.

Of course, Sale took the high road and said he would’ve preferred a White Sox win, even though it was “cool” to be on the cusp of making history. Regardless, sharing history with Martinez and Johnson ain’t a bad consolation prize. I mean, they’re only Hall of Famers. No big.

Sidelined Stanton

A broken left wrist has placed the majors’ home run leader, Giancarlo Stanton, on the disabled list Saturday. ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian reported a four to six-week recovery timetable for Stanton’s left wrist hamate fracture once he has surgery for it. The injury happened during the team’s 7-1 loss against the Dodgers on Friday night after striking out in the ninth inning. According to MLB.com, the ailment was diagnosed after postgame X-rays were taken on Stanton’s wrist.

It’s a horribly unfortunate situation for the Miami Marlins, a club that is currently last place in the NL East with Stanton’s MVP-caliber bat.  What’s the organization supposed to do without the 25-year-old slugger now? He was well on his way to a career year with a .265/.346./.606 line, MLB-leading 27 home runs and 67 RBI. He and Dee Gordon have been the only consistent Marlins this season. The good news is that Stanton’s chances of regaining his MVP-ish form are high since his hand doesn’t have any damaged ligaments. The Marlins now have no hope of reaching the playoffs this year. Regardless, trading away guys like Mat Latos, Ichiro Suzuki and Dan Haren could net the team some prospects who can help them retool for next year.

Broken Buxton

Byron Buxton has already made his way to the 15-day disabled list within two weeks of being called up to the majors. Buxton’s injury is a sprained left thumb, and he sustained the ailment during Tuesday’s matchup against the White Sox. Twins manager Paul Molitor expects Buxton to miss at least one month while the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s LaVelle E. Neal III reported a timetable of four to six weeks.

Twins place Byron Buxton on 15-day DL with a left thumb sprain. Suffered it on his stolen base attempt on Tuesday. Danny Santana recalled

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 26, 2015

This is a year where prospects like Kris Bryant and Joc Pederson are performing like All-Stars, with Carlos Correa having a chance to join them. Therefore, Byron Buxton’s rough start and injury are relatively disappointing in a season where top prospects have mostly achieved MLB success right away.

Danny Santana was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to replace Buxton, who played through his injury Wednesday and earned a golden sombrero against White Sox ace Chris Sale.

The “Year of the Prospect” hasn’t been kind to Buxton, and but at least his injury gives another Twin a chance to redeem himself. It was tough for Santana to prevent his squad from replacing him when he was rocking a 49/2 K/BB with a .218 average and .525 OPS before his demotion.

Meet Your New Mets: Matz & Meyer

Speaking of the “Year of the Prospect,” The New York Mets were the latest team to join the frenzy by calling up pitchers Steven Matz and Alex Meyer. The 25-year-old Meyer will be a reliever for the Metropolitans after beginning the season as a starter in the minors. The club switched him to a relief role just a few weeks ago.

Since being moved to relief, Alex Meyer had a 0.53 ERA with 20 Ks and 6 BBs in 17 IP with Triple-A Rochester

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 25, 2015

Steven Matz is the guy who the Mets are most excited about though. His arrival has prompted the Mets to utilize a six-man rotation to keep all of their young arms fresh. Tommy John surgery prevented the 2009 second round pick from making his MiLB debut until 2012, but it didn’t stop him from becoming one of the game’s most highly touted prospects. The 24-year-old crushed the Pacific Coast League during his 90 1/3 innings at Triple-A Las Vegas this year with a 7-4 record, 2.19 ERA, 94 strikeouts and 31 walks. If those stats aren’t eye-opening enough, Matz’s ever-developing curveball and changeup serve as perfect compliments to his mid-90s fastball. Below is a sweet 92 mph fastball from Matz that struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia in spring training.

-This GIF can be found on Fake Teams

Jonathan Ebanks is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Jonathan, check out his archive and follow him @hogz4lyfe.