Orelvis Martinez's spring debut showcases the power he could bring to Toronto's roster

While last season was a disappointment on many levels for the Blue Jays, there was perhaps no disappointment bigger than the lack of development from Orelvis Martinez.

And although we're only one game into Spring Training, Martinez seems poised to make up for that lack of development this season. The 23-year-old smashed Toronto's first home run of Spring Training on Saturday in the Blue Jays' 6-4 win over the Yankees.

After entering last season as the Blue Jays' No. 2 prospect, Martinez got his first MLB call-up in June and went 1-for-3 in the lone MLB game he played in before being slapped with an 80-game PED suspension that ended his season.

Not only did that suspension cut into Martinez's standing in the organization, but it also impacted his view in the baseball world (he fell out of the MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects this season).

None of that takes away from Martinez's power, however, which he showcased Saturday with his opposite field home run. The right-handed hitting Martinez mashes against left-handed pitching, so it should come as no surprise that his home run came off the left-handed Brandon Leibrandt.

Martinez mashed 17 home runs in 74 games in Triple-A last year, and has hit 110 home runs in 455 career minor league games. His best season came in 2022 when he his 30 home runs in Double-A.

Martinez got the start at designated hitter on Saturday, which could end up being his path to making the Blue Jays' roster. Martinez came up through Toronto's system as a third baseman but is a subpar defender, so there's a chance Toronto could decide to move him to a different position in an attempt to limit his deficiencies. Still, if he keeps mashing like he did Saturday, Toronto's front office should do whatever it can to keep him in the lineup.

Elsewhere, Joey Loperfido, Bo Bichette and Steward Berroa all recorded doubles against New York, while Bichette was the only Blue Jay to have multiple hits. Berroa gave the Blue Jays the lead in the bottom of the eighth with his double.

Berroa, Alejandro Kirk, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Martinez drove in Toronto's runs. Easton Lucas started and pitched two scoreless innings, while Brendon Little and Zach Pop got strong starts to their springs by throwing a scoreless inning each.