Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ARI | RHP | 6 | 50 |
Grades Update: Dec 2020
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Cnt/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 60 | 55 | 60 | 60 | 40/30 |
Dec 2020 Report
Evaluator: Matt Thompson
Age: 25 yr
Height: 6-2
Weight: 228 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2017 2nd, HOU
RuleV: On 40-Man
Physical Description: At 6'2", 228 pounds, Martin could resemble the mold for which MLB starters are made from. It's the ideal build, athletic and also strong. Martin ended up requiring Tommy John surgery just prior to being traded at the 2019 deadline as part of the package for Zack Greinke.
Delivery & Mechanics: Pitches from the first base side of the rubber. Utilizes an inverted windup with his body already starting facing towards third, resembling pitching from the stretch. He then steps back with his front leg, and has a waist high leg kick. Simple, repeatable mechanics from a relatively low effort delivery.
Fastball: Averaged 95 with the fastball but can reach back for 97-98 seemingly when he wants to, which is nice to have in your back pocket, but he does lose 2-3 MPH late in games. Relies heavily on the fastball, will throw it nearly 70% of the time. Martin will throw the fastball to all four quadrants, but gets swings and misses when he elevates the pitch above the zone. The pitch has tremendous ride at the top of the zone, and has efficient enough spin to look like it rises as it crosses the plate. It's a plus pitch, and the velocity is back as he was sitting in the mid-90s at the alternate site. Throws the fastball with intent. His goal is to make you look bad everytime he throws it. Made a note of this when I watched his big league debut. It's very impressive that he will go inside with the heater and establish ownership of the inside half of the plate. Most young arms shy away from that. Not Martin. The word shy doesn't exist when he's on the mound. Grade: 60
Curveball: Very similar to his slider just less horizontal movement and more of the traditional 12-to-6 break. In regards to his slider and curveball, they are very similar pitches and he uses them interchangeably. He will mix them in against either handed hitter. The curveball will get whiffs. The curveball sits around 80-83 MPH, and its an above-average pitch that he has a good feel for. Grade: 55
Slider: Tight, horizontal movement while coming at hitters around 89 MPH, it has similar traits to the curveball and he leans on one of the breaking balls much more heavily in a given start than the other. It's hard to find a game where he's mixing in both of these offerings at will. Tends to stick to whichever one he has a better feel for that day. I prefer the slider to the curveball ever so slightly because I like the horizontal run the pitch has, and consider it a plus pitch. Will miss a ton of bats. Grade: 60
Changeup: His best secondary. Disguises itself to look just like the fastball but has strong fade and armside run, getting swings and misses as hitters are looking fastball. Will throw it to lefties and righties, but leans on it a bit more against lefties. It's an outstanding pitch. Comes in a bit firm, averaged 87 MPH, but it fits in with the rest of his arsenal. Grade: 60
Control and Command: Martin is always around the zone, but has a difficult time reigning in the stuff and hitting the mitt consistently. He also got burned by the long ball in his brief big league sample, and if he can locate with this loud arsenal, that won't happen. Martin doesn't have to be too fine, in fact he doesn't even need average command to be successful because the stuff is so loud. But the stuff leaks over the plate enough and he was far too hittable in his brief big league sample. Control: 40 | Command: 30
Overall: Martin has some of the best stuff in the organization, which is high praise due to the amount of quality arms in this system. He was rehabbing from Tommy John and all set to resume as baseball was restarting from the shutdown, but suffered an oblique injury during his rehab, and the fact that it was an abbreviated season with the Diamondbacks being non-factors they made the decision to just shut it down for the season. Martin should be a full participant with no limitation when baseball is set to resume. One thing to watch is building up his pitch count. He's only crossed the 100 pitch benchmark once in his professional career to this point, and hasn't proven he can go deep in ball games yet. That's less important now, but could be important in an organization like this if he wants to stick in the rotation. Bump the OFP up a grade and the role up a half grade is he comes back looking strong.
OFP: 50
Role: 50 - #4-5 Backend Starter
Risk: Moderate
