Orelvis Martinez used some late-game heroics to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 11 games with Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th inning of an 8-8 tie game, needing a hit to preserve his hitting streak after going 0-for-4 with a walk earlier in the afternoon.
After taking a down-and-in changeup for ball one, Martinez turned on a knee-high fastball and sent it 469 feet beyond the left-field wall for a 113.8-m.p.h. grand slam, connecting on just his second home run of the season. Though the Bisons gave a run back in the bottom half of the 10th, that’s all they would allow, securing a 12-9 victory over the Columbus Clippers, the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate.
Martinez, the No. 2 top prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system per MLB Pipeline, has now recorded a hit in 13 of his first 14 games in 2024.
The right-handed-hitting infielder popped out in his first at-bat before striking out on three pitches in his next trip to the plate. After walking in his third plate appearance, he lined out to right field and smoked a hard-hit grounder to second base in his fifth appearance, which came off his bat at 109.4 m.p.h.
Creating hard contact hasn’t been an issue for Martinez this season, as evidenced by the 47.4-per-cent hard-hit rate — good for fifth-highest on the team — he carried into Wednesday. The Bisons’ offence entered the day leading all of Triple-A with its 43.6-per-cent hard-hit rate.
Over his first 13 games with Buffalo this season, Martinez had hit .306/.358/.490 with six doubles but only one home run, accounting for a 117 wRC+. He also posted a 20.8-per-cent strikeout rate and a 5.7-per-cent walk rate.
The 5-foot-11 righty blasted 28 home runs while driving in 94 and slashing .243/.340/.496 with a 114 wRC+ across 125 games split between Double-A and Triple-A last season.
Martinez’s OPS has soared to .875 on the year following Wednesday’s 1-for-5 showing.
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