Down on the Farm - 7/25/22

Orelvis Martinez (TOR) goes off, Jackson Chourio (MIL) gets promoted to High-A, Oscar Colas (CWS) homers twice, Taj Bradley (TB) shines in first Triple-A start, Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) strikes out 11

Good morning!

Player of the Day 🌟

Orelvis Martinez (20) - TOR (AA) 3-4, two home runs, strikeout

Martinez hit a solo homer in the 4th and a three-run shot in the 7th that broke a tie and helped New Hampshire beat Portland 9-7. The 20-year-old shortstop is slashing .214/.280/.483 (92 wWRC+) on the season with 22 homers across 319 plate appearances. One of the youngest players in Double-A, Martinez has displayed both his explosive raw power and propensity to chase pitches out of the zone. He has an overly aggressive approach (54% swing rate), which combined with facing higher quality arms in Double-A has led to an increase in his tendency to both expand the zone and swing/miss (18%) this season. Unsurprisingly, the result has been more strikeouts (29%) and a decrease in his walk rate (6%). Although he’s mostly played short this season, he’s also spent about of 1/3 of his time at third. It appears increasingly likely that Martinez shifts permanently over the third base as he continues to grow and develop physically. If Martinez can improve his approach and make more consistent contact he has a chance to eventually be a power hitting corner infielder in the big leagues. Those are big ifs though.