Bisons' Martinez still steering toward The Show
Forcing the hand of the organization might come into play for Orelvis Martinez. As the Toronto Blue Jays sit in the middle of the pack of the American League East a month into the season, a not-so-far-away contributor has put up videogame-like numbers for Triple-A Buffalo. MLB's No. 81 prospect
Forcing the hand of the organization might come into play for
As the Toronto Blue Jays sit in the middle of the pack of the American League East a month into the season, a not-so-far-away contributor has put up videogame-like numbers for Triple-A Buffalo. MLB's No. 81 prospect has homered in six of his last seven games and sports a .333/.392/.681 slash line in the young season.
Martinez smoked his fifth homer of the week late into a 16-4 win over the Columbus Clippers on Sunday. The Blue Jays' No. 2 prospect connected on a low four-seam fastball in the ninth inning, sending it 410 feet at 108.6 mph to the batter's eye in center field at Huntington Park.
The homer marked the last run tally in a high-scoring affair between Buffalo and Columbus, where the two clubs combined for five long balls. Martinez -- who went 2-for-5 with a walk on the afternoon -- drove in four runs (three on the homer) and scored twice.
The eye-catching week from Martinez featured a multihomer performance on Friday, when he extended his homer streak to three straight games. The 22-year-old slugger went 10-for-28 with five home runs, one double and 13 RBIs in six games.
In his two-homer night Friday, Martinez got off to a quick start in the first inning of a 9-3 loss. The 5-foot-11 200-pound righty smoked a 104.4 mph solo shot to the back of the bleachers in left field. Incredibly, that power display looked minuscule compared to what the righty did two innings later.
Martinez crushed a hanging slurve ball down the middle of the plate, sending the ball into the fans sitting on the berm in left-center field.
The distance on the second dinger? 434 feet. The exit velocity? 105 mph. Is Martinez showing Major League power? He sure is.
All of his home runs this season have been hit with an exit velocity of at least 100 mph and four of them have traveled at least 400 feet. His most impressive one, however, came on April 17 when Martinez socked a go-ahead grand slam 469 feet in extra innings.
The Bisons are seeing the benefits of having Martinez, but soon the Blue Jays might want to cash in on having that right-handed power in their lineup. Toronto’s offense could use a jolt as it ranks 21st in the Majors in runs scored, 23rd in RBIs and 21st in average.
Kenny Van Doren is a contributor for MiLB.com.