3 Blue Jays prospects who should not be traded and 2 who should to help the team

Orelvis Martinez

Orelvis Martinez has been an intriguing prospect for the Jays, ever since they signed him as an international prospect out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018. He profiles to be a power-hitting, productive ballplayer and had been often compared to former MLB star third baseman Adrian Beltre. He had his breakout year in the minors in 2021 when he batted .261 with an OPS of .895, along with 66 runs scored, 26 doubles, 28 home runs, and 87 RBI across two minor league levels. Then when the year of 2022 came around, that was when he started developing the bad habits of just focussing on hitting for power, and not much else. In doing so, he still maintained his power production with 30 home runs and 76 RBI in 118 games.

However, his overall hitting stats fell dramatically, with a batting average falling towards the Mendoza Line, an OPS in the low .700s, and striking out a whopping 140 times. His hitting struggles carried over into the 2023 season, until he had recently turned a corner and have started to become a more effective hitter once again, rather than just hitting bombs and striking out.

As a result, Martinez should be another prospect the Jays should avoid including in any trade talks this summer. For the past three years, he has consistently being ranked in the top four among the Jays’ top prospects list. There’s a reason for that, as Martinez currently represents the most potent bat that the Jays have in their minor league system. With his untapped potential, along with his recent improvement at the plate, this is not the best time to give up on such a player. Especially when he could have been included in huge trades the past couple of years, but the Jays chose to give up top prospects Austin Martin and Gabriel Moreno instead while holding onto Martinez all this time. So if he wasn’t included then, he definitely should not be included now, as he could be the ideal replacement for Matt Chapman in the near future.