Martinez was Toronto’s biggest international signing in 2018, joining for $3.5 million. Since then, he’s put together back-to-back-to-back seasons with 28 or more homers and leads all Minor Leaguers with 86 total dingers since 2021. Martinez hit a rough patch with an aggressive assignment to Double-A New Hampshire in 2022, hitting just .203 with a .286 OBP over 118 games, but flipped a switch one month into his return to the Eastern League this past season. He reached Triple-A Buffalo as a 21-year-old in July and is in his second campaign on Toronto’s 40-man roster.
Martinez’s plus power is undeniable with a powerful base designed to launch the ball on contact. Blue Jays coaches think the right-handed slugger had gone off in search of that power too often by trying to yank balls down the line, leading to an elevated strikeout rate, catchable flyballs and a low BABIP in 2022. Martinez got less jumpy and more selective in his second New Hampshire spin, and his walk rate nearly doubled from 8.1 percent to 14, while his K percentage dropped eight points. He carried that approach improvement to Triple-A and remained a close-to-average bat in a league in which he was five years younger than average.
The Dominican Republic native was signed as a shortstop but lacks footspeed. The Jays had been splitting his time between there and third base, where his plus arm strength plays, but made him a full-time second baseman by late August because that provides him with extra reaction time compared to the hot corner. After a solid start in Buffalo, Martinez was eventually called up to the Blue Jays for his MLB debut but was suspended 80 games soon after for testing positive for the banned substance Clomiphene. He could return just before the end of the 2024 season in September.
Martinez headlined the Blue Jays’ July 2 class in 2018, signing for a $3.5 million bonus. Believing in his talent early, the Blue Jays brought him to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2019, where he slugged .549 with seven homers over 40 games. Coming out of the lost pandemic season, Martinez spent 2021 between Single-A Lansing and High-A Vancouver, where he posted a combined .895 OPS with 28 home runs, putting himself on the map as one of the top young power bats in the game.
That power was still on full display in 2022, as Martinez hit 30 home runs with Double-A New Hampshire, but his strikeout totals became an issue. He batted just .203 with a .286 OBP and that negated some of his power. The Blue Jays had intentionally challenged Martinez with the aggressive assignment against older competition, and at times, he was chasing power numbers. He also fatigued a bit late in the season, but the organization was pleased with how he reflected on those challenges and showed some improvements in that plate approach. He put those to use in 2023, severely cutting down on strikeouts in May, June and July before heading to Triple-A Buffalo for the first time.
Martinez’s power has the potential to be special, but his pitch selection and patience will determine how far that carries him. He’ll continue to split time between shortstop and third base, and while third is the likelier outcome, he’s earned a longer look at short and has the arm to handle any throws from the left side. Martinez has been 21 years old for the full 2023 season, so there is still plenty of development time ahead of him to become a slug-first infielder in the Majors.
The Blue Jays made Martinez their largest July 2, 2018, signing when they gave him a $3.5 million bonus at the start of the international period. They backed up that belief in him in 2019 by moving him stateside to the Gulf Coast League, where he slugged .549 with seven homers in 40 games. At just 18, he was aggressively sent to the 2020 alternate training site to compete against much older pitchers, and he returned to game action strong a year later. His 28 homers between Low-A and High-A led all Minor League teenagers in 2021, while he finished with a .261/.345/.549 slash line in 451 plate appearances.
With a quick right-handed swing and promising strength from a 6-foot-1 frame, Martinez can really turn on balls and drive them at fast exit velocities and to far distances. Given his age and athletic body type, there’s the belief that even more power could be coming out of his already promising bat speed. He has struggled with chasing breaking pitches at the lower levels, and he could be vulnerable to that against more advanced pitching as he climbs the chain, which would lead to just a below-average hit tool.
An average runner at best, he seems like a prime candidate to slow down more as he ages and gets stronger. The Blue Jays have already given him time at both short and third base, and while he remains raw at short right now, he seems likely destined for the hot corner long term with enough arm for the position. Even if he does move, Martinez possesses a high ceiling as a power-first infielder.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic for $3.5 million on July 2, 2018, Martinez received the second-largest bonus of any prospect in that year’s international class. Martinez was ranked as the No. 6 prospect in that class by MLB Pipeline with some scouts who saw the young infielder as an amateur comparing his profile to that of Adrian Beltre, given his powerful bat and strong arm from the left side of the infield. Martinez lived up to expectations in his professional debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, hitting .275 with a .352 on-base percentage and .907 OPS with seven home runs over 40 games.
Spending time at the Blue Jays’ alternate training site in 2020, Martinez impressed Blue Jays staffers with his willingness and ability to battle against pitchers far older and more advanced than him. With a power tool as strong as any prospect in the Blue Jays system, Martinez should light up the exit velocity numbers as he climbs the ladder through the Minor Leagues. With a plus hit tool to go along with that, Martinez will need to continue to mature his plate approach so that his potentially game-changing bat can shine.
Martinez’s 6-foot-1 frame is filling out into a power-hitter’s frame, but the Blue Jays still believe he can stick at shortstop due to his fluid and efficient defensive motions. He’ll continue to see time at third base, too, where his plus arm is fully capable of making the throw across the diamond. Once Martinez gets into full-season ball, many expect his profile to take a significant step forward around the league.
Signed by Toronto for $3.5 million on July 2, 2018, Martinez received the second-largest bonus of any prospect in his class. In his first professional season last year, he offered a glimpse of why he had been ranked No. 6 on MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top 30 international prospects, slashing .275/.352/.549 with seven home runs, eight doubles, five triples and 32 RBIs in 40 games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Some scouts who saw Martinez as an amateur in the Dominican Republic compared him to a young Adrian Beltre as a hard-hitting infielder with a projectable body and strong arm, and though a Hall of Fame-type career may not be in the foreseeable future for Martinez, he has one of the higher offensive ceilings in the system.
He is a good athlete and has across-the-board tools, though it’s his potential from the right side of the plate that has club officials most excited. Combining a rhythmic swing with plus bat speed, he impacts the ball to the big parts of the field with authority. He needs to continue to clean up his swing in the coming years like any young hitter, but the ingredients are there for Martinez to develop into an average hitter. His power could play close to plus when all is said and done, with considerable room for Martinez still to grow into his projectable frame.
Martinez has average speed but could lose a step or two over time as he fills out physically. It may also force him from shortstop to third base long term, though Martinez has the tools and skills, including solid defensive actions, advanced body control and above-average arm strength, needed to profile at either position and his feel and rhythm with the glove help his potential future at short. Questions about his future defensive home aside, Martinez’s bat may be good enough to offset any concerns about him moving down the defensive spectrum.
Signed by Toronto for $3.5 million on July 2, Martinez received the second-largest bonus of any prospect in the 2018-19 class after ranking No. 6 on MLB Pipeline's list of the Top 30 international prospects. Some scouts who saw Martinez as an amateur in the Dominican Republic compared him to a young Adrian Beltre as a hard-hitting infielder with a good projectable body and a strong arm. While the odds are against Martinez having a Hall of Fame-caliber career like Beltre, he does have one of the higher offensive ceilings in the system.
Martinez is a good athlete and has across-the-board tools, though it's his potential from the right side of the plate that has club officials the most excited. Combining a rhythmic swing with plus bat speed, he impacts the ball to the big parts of the field with authority. He'll need to clean up his swing some in the coming years like any young hitter, but all the ingredients are there for Martinez to develop into an average hitter. His power, meanwhile, could play close to plus when all is said and done, as Martinez has considerable room to grow into his projectable frame.
Martinez has average speed but may lose a step or two over time as he fills out physically. It may also force him from shortstop to third base long-term, though Martinez has the tools and skills, including solid defensive actions, advanced body control and above-average arm strength, needed to profile at either position. Questions about his future defensive home aside, Martinez's bat may be good enough to offset any concerns about him moving down the defensive spectrum.
Ranked as MLB Pipeline's No. 4 international prospect, Martinez has received some comparisons to a young Adrian Beltre as a hard-hitting infielder with a good projectable body and a strong arm. That offensive potential earned the 16-year-old shortstop a $3.5 million bonus, the highest among players in his class, from the Blue Jays at the outset of the 2018-19 international period.
Martinez has a good rhythm and a short, compact swing with plus bat speed from the right side of the plate, and together those attributes give him a chance to be an above-average hitter with above-average power once fully developed. He's an average runner, having posted times of 6.8-7.1 seconds in the 60-yard dash, and could possibly lose a step with physical maturation.
That Martinez has plenty of room left to add strength to his projectable frame has some scouts thinking that he'll eventually be forced from shortstop to third base. With solid actions in the field to go along with body control and an above-average arm, Martinez could develop into a quality defender at either position. However, it's Martinez's bat is his calling card and could one day help him reach the Major Leagues.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here
