The Call-Up: Orelvis Martinez | Baseball Prospectus

Picture credit score: © Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports activities

The Scenario: Bo Bichette has struggled and is now damage (or maybe struggled whereas damage). However in any case he has hit the injured checklist, to get replaced by the Jays prime hitting prospect, Orelvis Martinez.

The Background:  Martinez was a seven-figure-bonus signing from the Jays 2018 IFA class. He was instantly introduced stateside in 2019, and slugged practically .550 as a 17-year-old within the GCL. We obtained commensurate robust reside reviews, however again then did are typically pretty conservative with complex-level bats. He ranked eighth in a deep Jays system that 12 months as we awaited a 2020 full-season ball project. That in fact needed to wait till 2021, though we obtained robust reviews on Martinez throughout his instructs time on the finish of 2020. The now 19-year-old Martinez slugged .549 as soon as once more, this time break up between two A-ball ranges. He did wrestle a bit after his promotion to the Northwest League, and total seemed extra like a future third baseman than shortstop. However the energy seemed extraordinarily actual, so he checked in at third on the Jays checklist and no. 62 on the Prime 101. Martinez’s transition to the higher minors was bumpy. As one of many youngest gamers within the Japanese League in 2022, he did swat 30 dwelling runs, however noticed his strikeout fee balloon and his OBP dip below .300. So his prospect inventory dropped a bit as nicely. He obtained some 101 consideration however ended up simply off, and fell to quantity 5 on Toronto’s staff checklist. His second move at Double-A went a bit higher—though he spent a lot of the season getting reps at infield spots apart from shortstop—and was even higher after his promotion to Buffalo. He popped again onto the Prime 101, as he was near the majors and this type of energy from a participant nonetheless of their early 20s is uncommon. Martinez has roughly xeroxed his 2023 Worldwide League line to date in 2024, and after logging over 300 video games within the higher minors, is clearly prepared for a serious league stress check.

The Scouting Report: Martinez has been a notable prospect for over half a decade, so maybe a little bit of fatigue has set in. And he does have some pretty apparent flaws, however he’s additionally close to the highest of the Triple-A leaderboards in some necessary energy markers (ninetieth percentile exit velocity and injury fee to call two). And while you have a look at these classes—and SEAGER the place he’s additionally within the prime 20—you’ll discover him surrounded principally by older prospects with major-league time below their belts (and likewise actually Junior Caminero). Okay, however what about these flaws? Effectively, to get to that energy, Martinez has an enormous previous stomp and elevate swing, taking fairly lengthy rips by the zone. He’s hitting the ball even more durable this 12 months—not shocking given Baseball America’s analysis on exit velocities relative to age—however he can typically wrestle to persistently pull the ball or alter to offspeed stuff. Martinez’s energy will play line-to-line, and he’s aggressive within the zone with out being that a lot of a free swinger outdoors of it, however the contact profile runs a little bit of a knife’s edge, and the soar from Triple-A to the majors could also be as massive because it’s ever been. If he can hit .240, he’s a superb common, however any lower than that you find yourself within the Patrick Knowledge/Jack Suwinski/Jo Adell vary.  Martinez ought to have a bit extra defensive worth than that group although. He’s taking part in second and third completely now, and he would possibly see time at each spots within the majors, and needs to be at the least common at both with the glove.

Instant Main-League Future:  Martinez is a bat-first profile, and power-over-hit at that, so that you don’t know for certain how he’s going to fare towards main league spin till he sees it. It’s not totally shocking he’s sitting towards Tanner Houck tonight—he most likely simply obtained off a aircraft and that sweeper is hellacious even in case you’ve seen pitches prefer it earlier than. Bichette’s calf difficulty would possibly solely require a short-term IL stint, and the stability of the Jays’s season rises and falls with him greater than another participant. However I supposed Martinez doesn’t actually should displace Bichette, given the infield tonight is Spencer Horwitz, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ernie Clement. He has way more offensive upside than that trio, he would possibly simply not get sufficient major-league time to point out it.

Fantasy Impression: There’s a kind of catch-22 with Martinez as a fantasy useful resource, in that he’d be extra thrilling if he was becoming a member of a wholesome, high-functioning Blue Jays offense, however his promotion won’t have come now if the offense was both wholesome or performing at a excessive degree. As it’s, the 22-year-old is stepping in for what needs to be one of many staff’s stars, Bichette, and stepping right into a lineup that’s 24^th within the league in runs per sport. —Jeffrey Paternostro

The aforementioned paradox does work in Martinez’s favor as nicely, although—if he had been becoming a member of the staff as an ancillary piece he won’t be in an important place to place up the form of stats we care about, however with Bichette out and the remainder of the lineup wanting pedestrian it may very well be a chance for the shortstop to occupy some helpful lineup actual property from day one. As famous above, if the thump in his bat performs on the highest degree, Martinez is a really intriguing participant each in actual life and in our sport. For those who can’t danger the batting common hit or simply merely don’t want the facility that he brings, look elsewhere; in any other case, you’d do nicely to catch 13. (Sorry, not sorry.) —Nathan Grimm