H/W: 6-5 170 lb. B/T: R/R DOB: 7/25/88
This promising young Venezuelan's season was cut short in mid-May when he shattered his ankle sliding into home plate. Prior to the injury, Martinez was hitting .306 with 2 HR 18 RBI and 7 SB at Low-A Kannapolis. Surgery and rehab kept him out for the remainder of the season, but all reports show that he should be ready to begin the 2009 season. Martinez has a long, athletic frame that has evoked comparisons to a young Juan Gonzalez. Like Juan-Gone, Martinez has immense power potential evidenced by his jaw-dropping BP moonshots. Unlike some young hitters, Jose has a good approach at the plate drawing some walks and limiting his strikeouts. He is a complete hitter who uses all fields and his plus speed is well used on the basepaths and in the field. Currently, he has the range to play CF, though his strong arm and thickening frame will likely move him to RF in the future. The tools are there for Martinez to be a special player, but it still remains to be seen if the horrific injury to his ankle will be a thing of the past or a lingering detractor to his development.
2009 Projection: J-Mart will likely be headed back to Kannapolis to finish what he started, and if things go well for him, he could be promoted to High-A Winston Salem at some point in the season. Of course, the rub with him is his health His ankle injury was a serious one and the effects that it could have on his speed is not yet known. Also, it is only a matter of time before that skinny frame of his starts to pack on some muscle. Keep tabs on his reported weight as he enters the season as extra weight should result in greater power numbers. His bat is good enough right now to hit for a solid average but if he stays healthy and adds to his HR totals, Jose Martinez will be a name that many more collectors know.
Key Jose Martinez Baseball Cards:
- 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospects
 1970 TOPPS #8 JOSE MARTINEZ EXMT *298027 $2.00 |
 2008 Bowman Jose Martinez Cardinals Auto Autograph COA $5.50 |
 1970 Jose Martinez Pittsburgh Pirates Press Photo $13.88 |
 Memories of Antonio Jose Martinez Baca-Vaughn Inscribed $35.99 |
 1970 Topps Baseball #8 Jose Martinez PIRATES Ex $0.99 |
 2008 BOWMAN PROSPECTS GOLD #BP106 JOSE MARTINEZ $1.00 |
2. Right-Click then Copy
3. Paste the HTML code into your webpage
Popularity: 11% [?]
