Ranking the top 10 most important young players to the Blue Jays’ future

No. 7 - INF Orelvis Martinez

Orelvis Martinez was signed to a $3.5 million deal as an international prospect right out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018. The Jays must have thought highly of him and his abilities because the deal was the highest signing bonus given to an international prospect at the time. Martinez is an intriguing case as he can probably be classified as a huge boom or bust type of prospect, with the Jays counting heavily on the “boom” aspect of it. Nobody doubts his power production and star potential, as he has been ranked in the top five on the Jays’ Top Prospects list for the past three years. For that same reason, the Jays have been hesitant in including him in any huge trades, choosing to forego prized prospects such as Austin Martin and Gabriel Moreno instead in those trades.

But for most of last season and currently this season at Double-A New Hampshire, Martinez has started to develop into an “all or nothing” type of player. He is either hitting home runs, or striking out/getting out. Currently in 2023, he is hitting .165 with 12 of his 21 hits being home runs, to go along with 30 RBI and 35 strikeouts in 36 games. His projected ceiling could be another Matt Chapman or even Josh Donaldson in the future, with the floor being another Mark Reynolds or Joey Gallo. That still wouldn’t be too bad, but definitely for sure, the Jays would want Martinez to work out his hitting mechanics to become a more solid, contact hitter to be successful in the big leagues for a long time. Added to his undeniable potential, he will no doubt be a key piece on the Jays’ roster in the near future if everything goes to plan.