Minor League Player of the Week – Fernando Martinez (CF)

An article by Joe D    3 Comments

It’s no surprise that everyone is looking at the Mets future center fielder. Martinez was signed in 2005 as a non-drafted free agent. Native of the Dominican Republic, Martinez has shown signs of a five-tool player last year as he hit some home runs along with speed and a great arm. He was slowed down, much like Carp, last year because of an injury to his finger in which he missed four games. After the injury he wasn’t hitting as much as he was before the injury.

In 2008, Fernando started off slow with an average around .200. However, over the past 10 days, Fernando has a 9-game hitting streak increasing his average to a decent .268. Over the past 10 days, Martinez is batting .304 with 4 doubles and 3 RBIs.

Martinez is only 20 years old, and needs another year to really develop. He does strike out quite a lot, as he has 23 Ks in 22 games played. He’s playing full-time in AA so he needs to cut down his swing and make more contact. His hot April can help him increase his confidence and hopefully provide his ticket to the Mets in September.

If Martinez and Carp can continue to hit well in April and May, I expect both of them to make a trip to New Orleans by July. We all know AAA pitching is totally different than AA pitching, but if Martinez can mature and shorten his swing, he can handle it. The future is bright for Martinez, and if he turns out to be the player the Mets think he’ll be, then the Mets have got a star in the future.