Getting to Know Angel Martinez

A switch-hitting middle infielder who pulls fly balls. Sound familiar?

As Guardians fans hope for the best for Gabriel Arias and his family in whatever emergency situation they face, they also root for Angel Martinez to enjoy the fruits of his hard work in a successful major league debut, having been called up to the 26-man roster today.

Martinez was signed as a 16 year-old out of the Dominican Republic by the Guardians in 2018. For his professional career, he has an 111 wRC+ with a 18/10.3 K/BB, a .153 ISO, he’s pulled the ball about 45% over his career and hit fly balls at a 35% rate (indicating that he has some of that coveted pulled-fly-ball skill for which the Guardians look in hitters), and his overall swinging strike rate is around 10%. In Martinez’s 421 starts in the field in the minors, he’s appeared in 206 at second base, 74 at third base, 138 at shortstop, and 3 in centerfield. The general consensus among evaluators has been that he’s probably better served to play second base or outfield in the majors, but defense is very difficult to evaluate in the minor leagues. For what my opinion is worth, he has appeared competent any place he’s played.

FanGraphs had Martinez 8th in the Guardians’ system entering 2024 with a 45 Future Value grade, ZiPS ranked him 92nd in all of MLB, MLB Pipeline had him ninth in the Guardians’ system with a 45 future value grade, Keith Law of the Athletic had him 11th in the Guardians’ system.

Martinez’s breakout season was as a 20 year old at High-A and Double-A where he put up a 135 wRC+ with a 17/12 K/BB% and a .193 ISO. 2023 was a bit of a step-back to a 92 wRC+ at Double-A and Triple-A but Martinez seems to have taken that personally entering Spring Training 2024, where he put up a 220 wRC+ in 13 games, before suffering a hand injury that turned into a hamate issue that kept him out until he returned to Columbus on May 31st. With the Clippers this season, Martinez hasn’t missed a beat putting up a 157 wRC+, with a 14.9/12.2 K/BB%, and a .217 ISO. He’s not a great base-stealer, succeeding at a 50/73 rate in the minors so far; his game is sneaky power, steady walks, and solid defense.

One of the things I love about Martinez is that he appears to have fairly even splits vs. LHP and RHP for his career. This combined with his pulled fly ball and plate discipline abilities make me a fan of giving him a good look in Cleveland. It will be interesting to see where the team plays Martinez during his time here, and if they may look to eventually move him to an outfield role if the bat holds up to major league scrutiny.

On a personal note, I’ve met him twice at GuardsFest, and, the first time, he was very nice to me and excited to sign a baseball that was a souvenir from the Dominican Republic, and the second time, he was very kind to my four year old son and asked him questions of his own accord. He seems like a sweet kid and is a physical specimen who has clearly worked hard to get to this point. Let’s hope we’ve found our Guardian Angel in Martinez.