Orelvis Martinez is starting to heat up in Triple-A

Toronto Blue Jays prospect Orelvis Martinez has wowed scouts and fans alike with his prodigious power for years, and after a slow start, he’s starting to turn heads again in 2025.

While Martinez is only hitting .190 on the season, he's hitting .303 (10-for-33) over his last nine games. Six of those 10 hits have been for extra-bases.

Orelvis Martinez is starting to heat up

Signed as an international free agent as a 17-year-old in 2018, the Dominican native quickly displayed a slugging swing that accelerated his move through the minor leagues.

After blasting a team-high seven home runs in just 40 games in rookie ball, Martinez was affected by the cancellation of the minor league season the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the hiatus, he picked up where he left off and launched 77 homers over the next three seasons between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo.

That production caused the infielder to skyrocket up prospect ranking lists and had Blue Jays fans dreaming of what he could do in MLB.

His first chance at mkaing that happen came last season when the Jays were amid a brutally disappointing season and had a revolving door at second base.

Martinez got his callup at the end of June and went 1-for-3 in his MLB debut against the Guardians.

That was the only MLB action he'd say, and he was suspended 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance following the game. The suspension cost the 23-year-old a chance at a legitimate audition for a permanent starting role in ’25 and erased what might’ve been a bright spot in a lost season.

With Andrés Giménez in the fold and accounting for most of the playing time at second base, Martinez is starting to heat up in Buffalo despite a murkier path to the majors.

Over his first 11 games, the powerful righty collected just two hits in 36 at-bats (.056) as the Bisons' season got underway before going on his aformentioned hot streak.

He now has two home runs and five RBI on the season and is hitting the ball to all fields. It's not hard to imagine how he could help the Blue Jays' slumping offense.

The fact that half of his hits have gone for extra bases suggests that Martinez is hitting his stride, but he still has a considerable amount of swing-and-miss to his game. He’s struck out 15 times during that same span (41% strikeout rate) which coincides with what we have seen from the talented infielder throughout his career: awesome power with a high strikeout total.

As predictable as Martinez’s game is, he might be just what the Jays need right now.

They rank dead last in MLB in home runs (23), and they’re near the bottom in slugging percentage (.351, 27th), and OPS (.661, 24th). There’s no obvious pathway to a promotion for Martinez, but it might be worthwhile for them to think outside of the box with his promotion given the lack of production they've gotten from second and third base.

Martinez is an obvious choice for a potential call-up.