Blue Jays: Orelvis Martinez tabbed breakout player by Baseball America

Toronto Blue Jays teenage shortstop Orelvis Martinez is gaining some recognition from the baseball community after being tabbed a potential breakout player by Baseball America.

Ben Badler of Baseball America recently authored a piece on “13 Breakout MLB Prospects with Top 100 Potential“. The list included Blue Jays prospect Orelvis Martinez as one of the potential up and comers who could crack the Baseball America Top 100 rankings in the near future.

Martinez made his pro debut last season playing 40 games with the Blue Jays rookie affiliate in the Gulf Coast League as a 17-year old. Martinez hit .275/.352/.549 with 20 extra-base hits including five triples, seven home runs, and 32 runs batted in over 162 plate appearances.

The native of the Dominican Republic split time between shortstop (26 games) and third base (11 games) last season and could eventually make the transition to the hot corner.

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Martinez is currently ranked as the sixth-best prospect in the organization by MLB.com and was selected as “Top Prospect” in the entire Gulf Coast League in 2019. Aside from Jordan Groshans who is ranked second organizationally, Martinez is the highest-ranked shortstop and only other shortstop in the Top Ten.

The Jays landed Martinez as a 16-year old signing him to a $3.5 million dollar deal in the summer of 2018. Some scouts have compared his style of play and body type to that of former MLB third baseman Adrian Beltre. I am fairly confident the Jays would be quite content if Martinez put up similar numbers to that of Beltre over his MLB career.

The Blue Jays have a plethora of young infield prospects coming through the ranks. Aside from Martinez and Groshans, there is also Miguel Hiraldo, Leonardo Jimenez, Estiven Machado, and Rikelvin De Castro all honing their craft on their farm.

Hopefully, there is a minor league season this year as Martinez is on the cusp of breaking out and gaining Top 100 recognition. He is definitely one prospect to keep an eye on moving forward as he makes his way toward the majors.