The title says it all, Orelvis Martinez should be en route to San Diego as I write this.
On Friday evening, the 22-year-old infielder hit his fourth home run of the season. Moreover, this was his third straight game with a home run as he hit the go-ahead home run in the past two games. This moves the Jays’ second best prospect into a tie for the organization lead with Garrett Spain and Will Robertson
Of course, this is to be expected from Martinez. His 28 home runs in 2021 led the organization, his 30 home runs in Double-A as a 20-year-old led the organization, and his 28 home runs in 2023, you guessed it, led the organization.
However, we’ve seen a different side of Orelvis since May 2023. After a brutal first month in New Hampshire, Martinez finished the season slashing .276/.374/.545 with a 13.2 BB% and a 23.2 K% in 448 plate appearances, which has seemingly carried over to the 2024 season.
Heading into this game, Martinez was slashing .305/.359/.576 with three homers in 64 plate appearances. On top of the impressive slash line, Martinez is in the midst of what is now a 13-game hit streak, and has failed to register a hit in just one of his 16 games this season.
The adjustments made in the 2023 season to his hit tool have certainly helped, and now he’s a much more well-rounded hitter.
It appears that from now on, Martinez is destined to play the keystone. Although he has experience at third base and shortstop in years prior, he’s played 13 games at second base and no games at the other two positions. Martinez is evidently still learning the position, as he’s already made five errors in 110 innings fielded, but his bat is far too good to be in the minor leagues.
As I was wrapping up this article, Martinez hit his fifth home run of the season. I think the case is pretty clear. That’s now four home runs in his past three games.
Find him somewhere to play everyday, and let’s watch him hit some homers, shall we?
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.