Martin Shines at AAA Syracuse

J.D. Martin has paid some serious dues, and it pleases me to see him have some success. Here is a link to his 2009 stats. 58 K's against 7 BB's is pretty awesome.

over 2 years ago ken from alexandria 7 comments 0 recs |

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Sigh. He was always one of my favorite guys to root for…

Stuart Dean

by stuart dean on Jul 4, 2009 1:19 PM EDT reply actions

Meh. What exactly did you guys like rooting for, the injuries or the slow progress?

Maybe you just liked his name?

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Jul 4, 2009 7:09 PM EDT reply actions

You have to be a little bit of a dreamer to follow guys in the low minors. In J.D.’s first season, 2001, he put up a K rate of 14.2 per nine innings at Burlington in the Appy League. I never stopped paying attention after that, despite all the injuries. I saw him pitch once when he was with Kinston in 2003. Great curveball.

This guy has had eight years worth of bus rides and surgeries. I know it’s a long shot, but I’d like for the Nats to give him a chance.

by ken from alexandria on Jul 5, 2009 7:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Including one game with 14 K’s in 5 innings…that’s hard to do.

by TribeJay on Jul 6, 2009 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions

Yes, he didn’t turn out as promised, but would he look any worse than Saarloos or Cassel or even Ohka (who hasn’t been bad, mind you)?

Martin still would look more promising at Columbus than the guys I just mentioned, or Herges, Aquino, Vizcaino, etc. It seemed the Indians always held out hope for Martin to develop at some point, even after all the injuries and “slow progress.”

Did they let Martin go because they felt he would have a better chance elsewhere? It probably wouldn’t have been a problem to bring him for minimum cost (and without using up a spot on the 40-man roster until/unless he actually earned a promotion to Cleveland) – he certainly would have held more promise (either as a backend starter or as a bullpen pitcher) than the guys mentioned above, and might have been able to salvage to a minor extent that disastrous 2001 Draft.

Just my 2 cents.

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Jul 6, 2009 7:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Martin was a minor league free agent. They could not keep him without giving him a 40-man spot.

I don’t know for sure that they offered him a minor league deal, but I see no reason why they wouldn’t have. Most guys who make it to minor league free agency without ever getting to the majors opt to go to another organization, where they think they’ll have more opportunity, possibly even a 40-man spot.

That aside, what exactly makes him “more promising” than a guy like Aquino?

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Jul 6, 2009 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions