Orelvis Martínez leaves the yard in the Carribbean! The @BlueJays' No. 2 prospect slugs his 1st homer in @LIDOMRD action.
WATCH: Top Blue Jays prospect Orelvis Martínez hit his first home run in LIDOM
Photo credit: Bisons PR
Oct 20, 2024, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 19, 2024, 21:41 EDT
A top Toronto Blue Jays prospect hit a big home run Saturday evening.
Orelvis Martínez plays for Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) and hit his first career home run in that league on Saturday evening, taking former New York Mets minor leaguer Oscar De La Cruz deep on the first pitch of the at-bat.
Coming into the 2024 season, Martínez led the Blue Jays’ minor league system in home runs in each of the three seasons, amassing a total of 86 home runs. Not only did those 86 home runs lead the Blue Jays minor league system, but they led all of minor league baseball from 2021 until 2023.
After a rough 2022 season in terms of anything except for home runs, Martínez had a terrific 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A. The 2024 season started great for the 22-year-old infielder, as he slashed .260/.343/.523 with 16 home runs in 269 plate appearances for a 121 wRC+. This led to a call-up to the big leagues, with the Jays doing so on June 18.
Martínez played in his first big league game on June 21, getting his first big league hit in the process. However, it was reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN that Martínez received an 80-game suspension for PED usage.
Toronto Blue Jays infielder Orelvis Martinez has been suspended 80 games for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Martinez, 22, is Toronto’s top hitting prospect and made his big league debut Friday.
Not only was this not great, but Martínez blew an opportunity to get regular big league plate appearances, as the Blue Jays sold before the 2024 trade deadline and had many rookies on the roster.
Martínez returned to the Bisons on a rehab assignment on September 8, slashing .304/.360/.522 with one home run in 50 plate appearances for a 118 wRC+. So far in three games through the LIDOM season, Martínez is slashing .200/.385/.500 with three walks and five strikeouts in 13 plate appearances.
Due to the suspension, Martínez will likely start the 2025 season with the Bisons once again. The Blue Jays plan to contend next year and could look to add a few position players that have some pop in their bat, although their bullpen is a much more pressing concern.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
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