Chazz
Martinez

At an athletic 6-foot-3, 210-pounds he has an ideal pitcher's frame. In what was likely his best season performance to date, outside of his Week Two start against Northwestern State when he struckout 14 and walked just one in 7 IP, Martinez dealt against the Longhorns. He allowed just one run on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in 5.1 IP. Working with a slower paced, yet athletic and repeatable starter-type delivery, Martinez had occasional lapses with his fastball control, but for the most part kept his 90-92 mph heater down in the zone. He also worked in/out with some success, freezing RHHs on the inside corner a couple of occasions. He also mixed in two variations of his slider, both in the 82-85 mph range. One offering was an early count get-me-over with average depth, while the other was a deeper breaking version that he saved for later in counts. It induced swing/miss under bats and was especially effective when thrown at a RHHs back foot. Martinez's changeup (83-86 mph) had a cutter shape to it and was below average on this look. He slowed down his arm speed. It does project to be near average and more usable in the future. Early in the game he also flashed a couple upper-70s curve balls that showed some potential with its shape and velocity. Adding to his effectiveness is a compact arm action that allows him to hide the ball, giving his release point a late look to hitters. Currently seen as a 4th-6th round type of prospect, Martinez will only enhance that value with more outings like this one against the Longhorns, especially if he returns to touching 95-96 as he did earlier this spring and last fall.

A 12th round pick by Pittsburgh in the 2021 MLB Draft, Martinez went unsigned and headed to Norman. With front of the rotation stuff the 6-foot-3, 210 pound lefty works his fastball in the 91-94 mph range, will touch 96 and has a real feel to pitch. He controls a four pitch arsenal that also includes a curve, slider and changeup. This past spring he struck out 44 in 38 IP. The left-handed hitter also plays 1B and has big time raw power with exit velos up to 107 mph so far this fall for the Sooners. He homered eight times in 61 at-bats for Orange Coast CC last spring, but also struck out 20 times.