By: Brian Frank
Orelvis Martinez is used to being the young guy on a team. He’s been one of the youngest players at every level of the minor leagues he’s played at since joining the Blue Jays organization in 2018. The 21-year-old slugger is currently the youngest player on the Bisons and one of the youngest players in all of Triple-A.
“I know it’s an honor to be this young up here,” Martinez said through interpreter Justin Echevarria in a recent interview with Bisons.com. “I don’t take it lightly. I know that if not for the work that I put in that I wouldn’t be here.”
Martinez is currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Blue Jays number two prospect. The young phenom is motivated by the fact he’s such a highly regarded prospect.
“It’s something I don’t shy away from,” he said. “I welcome it. It’s something I’ve wanted my whole life and now I just want to show what I can do.”
Bisons manager Casey Candaele believes getting to Triple-A as a 21 year old is a huge accomplishment – and that Martinez has the ability to achieve much more.
“He’s a talented young player,” Candaele said. “He’s 21-years old and he’s in Triple-A, which is a feat and an accomplishment in and of itself. He’s got a lot to learn, but the talent is there and the ability to do damage is there obviously from his past two seasons in Double-A where he hit a lot of home runs. There’s some things that he needs to refine, especially defensively, but he’s willing to work, so we’ll do what we need to do to try and make him the best player he can be.”
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