Blue Jays agree to deal with Orelvis Martinez

The international signing day has begun and according to reports, the Blue Jays have agreed to a $3.5 million deal with Orelvis Martinez, MLB Pipeline’s 4th best prospect in this year’s international class.

Orelvis Martinez’s report on MLB Pipeline starts with quite an exciting phrase: “Some scouts look at Martinez and compare him to Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre at the same age.” Now that’s a major and very exciting comparison for the Blue Jays. However, the teenager from the Dominican Republic is still 16 years old and his path to the majors hasn’t even started yet.

According to reports from MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, he’s a powerful right-handed hitter who has a chance to be an above-average hitter with plus power. He’s 6’1″ and still has quite a few years left to get even taller and stronger. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline suggest he has a chance to stay at shortstop but will eventually move to the hot corner and be an above-average defender as a strong and physical player.

His primary weapons seem to be his power, and his strong arm, a quality any third baseman or shortstop needs to stay on the left side of the infield regularly.

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The signing of Orelvis Martinez means the Blue Jays add another young exciting shortstop to the organization. The Jays recently picked Jordan Groshans as their first overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft, and have Bo Bichette, Logan Warmoth, Kevin Vicuna, Kevin Smith and Richard Ureña as shortstops in their top 30 prospects. Some of those will change position, others could fail to have success in the majors, others will perhaps be in other teams in the coming years.

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What’s certain however is that the Blue Jays have the third base, shortstop, and second base positions well covered for the next decade with a congested infield of promising prospects.