Martinez was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo on Monday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Martinez owns a .226 batting average through 70 contests at Double-A New Hampshire, but he's gotten progressively better after a disastrous April (.089 average over 15 games), turning in a .280/.391/.480 slash line with three home runs and 11 RBI in 23 June matchups and a 7-for-19 start to July. As Matheson notes, it'll be worth keeping an eye on Marinez's playing time at the hot corner down the stretch of the regular season with Matt Chapman due to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2023 campaign.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Optioned to minor-league camp
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Martinez was optioned to minor-league camp by the Blue Jays on Monday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Martinez has impressive power in his right-handed bat but has struggled to hit for average thus far in the professional ranks. He batted .203 with a 28.6 percent strikeout rate for Double-A New Hampshire last season but also clubbed 30 home runs. If he can keep the contact issues in check, he has a chance to be a strong fantasy option in the coming years.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Shielded from Rule 5 draft
Rotowire
Martinez was added to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster Tuesday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Martinez is one of Toronto's top prospects, so it's not a surprise the organization opted to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The young third baseman played in 118 games for Double-A New Hampshire last season and had a .203/.286/.446 slash line with 30 home runs, 76 RBI and six stolen bases.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Goes yard twice Sunday
Rotowire
Martinez went 3-for-4 with two homers, four RBI and an additional run scored for Double-A New Hampshire on Sunday.
The 20-year-old has six hits in the last two days, including a double and three homers, to snap a 1-for-34 slump over his prior nine contests. Martinez has slugged 22 home runs in 78 games for the Fisher Cats this season, but that power comes with a .214 batting average, a 6.0 percent walk rate and a 29.9 percent strikeout rate. Until he learns to control the strike zone better, it's hard to project that Martinez will be a consistent offensive force in the majors. His age does offer some optimism that he can make the necessary adjustments and reach his impressive ceiling, however.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Lots of homers, whiffs in Double-A
Rotowire
Martinez is hitting .231/.303/.574 with 11 homers and a 6:37 BB:K across 29 games for Double-A New Hampshire.
He's done exactly one thing well this year, and that's hitting the ball over the fence. In fact, he's homered in three of the Fisher Cats' last four games -- and he even drew two walks Tuesday, representing a full third of his season total (of course, he also struck out three times in that game.). There's some bad BABIP luck (.233) at play here, but a 31.1 percent strikeout rate and 5.3 percent walk rate don't lend themselves to a good batting average. The good news is that Martinez, just 20 years old, is one of the youngest players in Double-A. Managers in dynasty formats would do well to stay patient with him.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Bound for Double-A
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Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Sunday that Martinez will likely open the upcoming season at Double-A New Hampshire, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.
Following his early-August call-up from Low-A Dunedin, Martinez produced at a roughly league-average level in his 27 games at High-A Vancouver last season with a .214/.282/.491 slash line (99 wRC+). A return to Vancouver to begin the 2022 campaign wouldn't have been unexpected for the 20-year-old, but the Blue Jays may have been encouraged enough with how he looked during his workouts at big-league camp earlier this spring to hand him the Double-A assignment. The Blue Jays haven't settled on a permanent defensive home for Martinez, but his prodigious power should play at nearly any spot.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Reassigned to minor camp
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Martinez was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
Martinez had a very productive spring with the Blue Jays, posting a .308/.400/.923 slash while hitting two homers and driving in four runs. Additionally, his 1.323 OPS ranked towards the top of his team. Jon Morosi of MLB Network notes that the club plans to use him at shortstop and third base while in the minors this season, but it's also a possibility that he could see time at second base due to there being a clearer path to the big leagues at the keystone.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Bumped up to High-A
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The Blue Jays promoted Martinez from Low-A Dunedin to High-A Vancouver on Tuesday, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.
The 19-year-old outfielder has enjoyed a breakout campaign at Dunedin, hitting .279 with 19 home runs over 325 plate appearances. Martinez's 26.2 percent strikeout rate is somewhat worrisome, and he may need to cut that down (or at least not increase it) in order to remain productive against the more advanced pitching at High-A.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Two more blasts for Dunedin
Rotowire
Martinez went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, two home runs, three runs scored, four RBI and a stolen base for Low-A Dunedin on Wednesday.
Toronto's No. 4 fantasy prospect is overmatching pitchers in his first taste of full-season ball, despite the fact that he doesn't turn 20 years old until November. Martinez has gone yard 11 times through 17 games in July, slashing a dizzying .400/.494/1.015 over that stretch, and while the Jays won't want to rush him up the ladder he seems more than ready for a new challenge.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Huge day at Low-A
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Martinez went 4-for-6 with three home runs, nine RBI and an additional run Saturday in Low-A Dunedin's 17-6 win over Clearwater.
The career day capped what has been a supremely hot stretch at the plate for Martinez over his last five starts, which have all come versus Clearwater. During that stretch, Martinez is slashing a remarkable .542/.593/1.500 while homering seven times and driving in 16. The 19-year-old now owns a .954 OPS on the season and could be ready for a jump up in competition.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Improving steadily at Low-A
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Martinez is hitting .263/.350/.474 with eight homers, two steals, 40 RBI and 30 runs across 52 games at Low-A Dunedin.
The 19-year-old hasn't done anything to assuage concerns about his hit tool, as he's striking out at a 27.3 percent clip. That said, he's performed better as the season's gone along. After posting a .772 OPS in May, he improved that figure to .802 in June, and it's 1.049 in July so far. Martinez has drawn enough walks to maintain a solid OBP, and there's no question that he has power. He should at least make it to High-A by season's end, but the ultimate test of his prospect status will be whether he can keep his strikeouts down once he reaches the two highest levels of the minors.
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Blue Jays' Orelvis Martinez: Added to player pool
Rotowire
Martinez was added to the Blue Jays' 60-man-player pool Thursday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Now one of the Jays' top prospects, Martinez signed a $3.5 million deal with Toronto back in July of 2018. He will get the opportunity to further his development at the team's alternate training site.
