Justin Martinez

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Arizona Diamondbacks #23 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Martinez had recently converted from outfielder to pitcher when the D-backs signed him for $50,000 in March 2018. Athletic with a strong arm, he quickly showed all the makings of a raw but intriguing, high-end pitching prospect, but his career hit a roadblock when he needed Tommy John surgery in 2021. He returned last year and raced through four levels as a reliever, finishing his season with an impressive Arizona Fall League showing.
  
  Scouting Report: Martinez sits in the mid-to-upper 90s with his fastball, occasionally touching triple-digits. He has average rise and carry through the zone. His slider is sweepy and sharp and flashes plus, but his best weapon is his split-change, an 85-89 mph dive-bombing pitch that elicits loads of swings and misses. Martinez came back from surgery throwing better strikes and pitching with more confidence than before. He is still an inconsistent strike-thrower, but his clean, repeatable delivery allows projection for average future control.
  
  The Future: Martinez had been seen as a possible starter, but his injury led to the shift to relief--and possibly to a fast-tracking of his big league arrival. His impressive year prompted the D-backs to add him to their 40-man roster in November, and he will come to major league camp looking to make an impression in hopes of debuting sometime in 2023. Scouting Grades: Fastball: 65. Slider: 55. Changeup: 65. Control: 50.
• 
  Ranked Arizona Diamondbacks #23 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Martinez was a former outfielder who only recently converted to the mound when the D-backs took a $50,000 flier on his athleticism and arm strength by signing him in March 2018. He quickly made significant strides, improving his velocity into the upper 90s while showing some feel to spin a breaking ball, but he suffered a setback early in 2021 when he ultimately required Tommy John surgery in July.
  
  Scouting Report: Martinez is known for a fastball that regularly sits in the upper 90s. He also has a slider that flashes plus but is inconsistent and a split-change that needs refinement. He struggled with his strike-throwing early last year but started to show improvement by picking up the tempo in his delivery to make things less rigid and more fluid. He still has work to do but continued to show enough to look like a starter. He has a strong frame and is a hard worker, someone coaches say is eager to soak up information.
  
  The Future: Surgery will wipe out a good chunk of Martinez’s 2022 season, but he is still young and will pitch most of 2023 at age 21. As such, he still has time to make good on his high-upside potential.
  
• 
  Ranked Arizona Diamondbacks #30 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: When the D-backs signed Martinez for $50,000 in 2018, he had been pitching for just six months, had below-average control and lacked the feel to spin a breaking ball. He improved rapidly and now, nearly three years later, has begun to win over believers when it comes to his potential to be a major league starter.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Martinez has plenty of size, strength and athleticism. His fastball sits in the mid 90s, scratches 99 mph and is unique in that it sometimes cuts and sinks. He has picked up a slider that can be sharp and sweepy but remains inconsistent. He also throws a splitter that provides good separation, but he needs to throw more strikes with it. His mechanics are raw and he tends to rush down the mound, but there's not much effort in his arm action and delivery.
  
  THE FUTURE: The strides Martinez has made given his short time on the mound lends credence to those who think he can continue trending upward. He has a ways to go, but his upside is tantalizing.
• 
  Ranked Arizona Diamondbacks #29 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Martinez converted from outfield to the mound less than six months before the Diamondbacks took a $50,000 flyer on him in March, 2018. He debuted in the Dominican Summer League a few months later, topping out at 95 mph, and added a few more ticks to his fastball last year to suddenly look like an intriguing, under-the-radar arm.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Martinez flashes electric stuff with his arm strength and athleticism. He sits 95-96 mph on his fastball, touching 98, and can show a powerful, swing-and-miss slider, albeit inconsistently. He also shows feel for a changeup. Despite a clean arm action and an uncomplicated, low-effort delivery, he has difficulty repeating and syncing up his levers. Even so, his strike-throwing improved year-to-year, and given his athleticism and how far he has come so quickly for a converted player, the Diamondbacks see reason to believe he'll continue to get better in time
  
  THE FUTURE: Martinez has the ingredients to become a tantalizing pitching prospect, but he still has a long way to turn that potential into reality. He'll open 2020 in extended spring training.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Martinez had recently converted from outfielder to pitcher when the D-backs signed him for $50,000 in March 2018. Athletic with a strong arm, he quickly showed all the makings of a raw but intriguing, high-end pitching prospect, but his career hit a roadblock when he needed Tommy John surgery in 2021. He returned last year and raced through four levels as a reliever, finishing his season with an impressive Arizona Fall League showing.
  
  Scouting Report: Martinez sits in the mid-to-upper 90s with his fastball, occasionally touching triple-digits. He has average rise and carry through the zone. His slider is sweepy and sharp and flashes plus, but his best weapon is his split-change, an 85-89 mph dive-bombing pitch that elicits loads of swings and misses. Martinez came back from surgery throwing better strikes and pitching with more confidence than before. He is still an inconsistent strike-thrower, but his clean, repeatable delivery allows projection for average future control.
  
  The Future: Martinez had been seen as a possible starter, but his injury led to the shift to relief--and possibly to a fast-tracking of his big league arrival. His impressive year prompted the D-backs to add him to their 40-man roster in November, and he will come to major league camp looking to make an impression in hopes of debuting sometime in 2023. Scouting Grades: Fastball: 65. Slider: 55. Changeup: 65. Control: 50.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Martinez had recently converted from outfielder to pitcher when the D-backs signed him for $50,000 in March 2018. Athletic with a strong arm, he quickly showed all the makings of a raw but intriguing, high-end pitching prospect, but his career hit a roadblock when he needed Tommy John surgery in 2021. He returned last year and raced through four levels as a reliever, finishing his season with an impressive Arizona Fall League showing.
  
  Scouting Report: Martinez sits in the mid-to-upper 90s with his fastball, occasionally touching triple-digits. He has average rise and carry through the zone. His slider is sweepy and sharp and flashes plus, but his best weapon is his split-change, an 85-89 mph dive-bombing pitch that elicits loads of swings and misses. Martinez came back from surgery throwing better strikes and pitching with more confidence than before. He is still an inconsistent strike-thrower, but his clean, repeatable delivery allows projection for average future control.
  
  The Future: Martinez had been seen as a possible starter, but his injury led to the shift to relief--and possibly to a fast-tracking of his big league arrival. His impressive year prompted the D-backs to add him to their 40-man roster in November, and he will come to major league camp looking to make an impression in hopes of debuting sometime in 2023. Scouting Grades: Fastball: 65. Slider: 55. Changeup: 65. Control: 50.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 45/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Martinez was a former outfielder who only recently converted to the mound when the D-backs took a $50,000 flier on his athleticism and arm strength by signing him in March 2018. He quickly made significant strides, improving his velocity into the upper 90s while showing some feel to spin a breaking ball, but he suffered a setback early in 2021 when he ultimately required Tommy John surgery in July.
  
  Scouting Report: Martinez is known for a fastball that regularly sits in the upper 90s. He also has a slider that flashes plus but is inconsistent and a split-change that needs refinement. He struggled with his strike-throwing early last year but started to show improvement by picking up the tempo in his delivery to make things less rigid and more fluid. He still has work to do but continued to show enough to look like a starter. He has a strong frame and is a hard worker, someone coaches say is eager to soak up information.
  
  The Future: Surgery will wipe out a good chunk of Martinez&#39s 2022 season, but he is still young and will pitch most of 2023 at age 21. As such, he still has time to make good on his high-upside potential.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Martinez was a former outfielder who only recently converted to the mound when the D-backs took a $50,000 flier on his athleticism and arm strength by signing him in March 2018. He quickly made significant strides, improving his velocity into the upper 90s while showing some feel to spin a breaking ball, but he suffered a setback early in 2021 when he ultimately required Tommy John surgery in July.
  
  Scouting Report: Martinez is known for a fastball that regularly sits in the upper 90s. He also has a slider that flashes plus but is inconsistent and a split-change that needs refinement. He struggled with his strike-throwing early last year but started to show improvement by picking up the tempo in his delivery to make things less rigid and more fluid. He still has work to do but continued to show enough to look like a starter. He has a strong frame and is a hard worker, someone coaches say is eager to soak up information.
  
  The Future: Surgery will wipe out a good chunk of Martinez’s 2022 season, but he is still young and will pitch most of 2023 at age 21. As such, he still has time to make good on his high-upside potential.
  
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: When the D-backs signed Martinez for $50,000 in 2018, he had been pitching for just six months, had below-average control and lacked the feel to spin a breaking ball. He improved rapidly and now, nearly three years later, has begun to win over believers when it comes to his potential to be a major league starter.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Martinez has plenty of size, strength and athleticism. His fastball sits in the mid 90s, scratches 99 mph and is unique in that it sometimes cuts and sinks. He has picked up a slider that can be sharp and sweepy but remains inconsistent. He also throws a splitter that provides good separation, but he needs to throw more strikes with it. His mechanics are raw and he tends to rush down the mound, but there's not much effort in his arm action and delivery.
  
  THE FUTURE: The strides Martinez has made given his short time on the mound lends credence to those who think he can continue trending upward. He has a ways to go, but his upside is tantalizing.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: When the D-backs signed Martinez for $50,000 in 2018, he had been pitching for just six months, had below-average control and lacked the feel to spin a breaking ball. He improved rapidly and now, nearly three years later, has begun to win over believers when it comes to his potential to be a major league starter.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Martinez has plenty of size, strength and athleticism. His fastball sits in the mid 90s, scratches 99 mph and is unique in that it sometimes cuts and sinks. He has picked up a slider that can be sharp and sweepy but remains inconsistent. He also throws a splitter that provides good separation, but he needs to throw more strikes with it. His mechanics are raw and he tends to rush down the mound, but there's not much effort in his arm action and delivery.
  
  THE FUTURE: The strides Martinez has made given his short time on the mound lends credence to those who think he can continue trending upward. He has a ways to go, but his upside is tantalizing.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Martinez converted from outfield to the mound less than six months before the Diamondbacks took a $50,000 flyer on him in March, 2018. He debuted in the Dominican Summer League a few months later, topping out at 95 mph, and added a few more ticks to his fastball last year to suddenly look like an intriguing, under-the-radar arm.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Martinez flashes electric stuff with his arm strength and athleticism. He sits 95-96 mph on his fastball, touching 98, and can show a powerful, swing-and-miss slider, albeit inconsistently. He also shows feel for a changeup. Despite a clean arm action and an uncomplicated, low-effort delivery, he has difficulty repeating and syncing up his levers. Even so, his strike-throwing improved year-to-year, and given his athleticism and how far he has come so quickly for a converted player, the Diamondbacks see reason to believe he'll continue to get better in time
  
  THE FUTURE: Martinez has the ingredients to become a tantalizing pitching prospect, but he still has a long way to turn that potential into reality. He'll open 2020 in extended spring training.