Joaquin
Martinez

The Braves' developmental program boasts three teams across three age groups, with each focused on different areas of the amateur baseball process (skill development, game competition, and recruiting exposure). The youngest group of Braves is in the 2030 graduating class, who are gaining valuable experience while preparing for their first seasons of high school, working with the coaches and resources inside the Braves program. One of the beneficiaries of this process is the talented Martinez, who showcased some interesting present tools for a rising 8th grader at the plate. His swing starts from a lower hand set with a linear-based forward move that relies on his hips, shoulders, and hands to deliver the barrel with authority at contact. Over two rounds, BP Martinez was consistently on time and on the barrel, with his contact reaching 80+ MPH on his max EV and averaging 75+ on his EV with an intriguing ability to hit the ball at quality angles, evidenced by his 90% sweet spot rate. The hit tool for Martinez appears to already be emerging and still a developing frame heading into high school. The impact can continue to trend up in the future, which very well can make him a name to be known in the future and will be one I keep tabs on as he progresses in his high school career. Defensively, there is some feel for what he does behind the plate in the receiving process, but like most young catchers, his pitch presentation, timing at receive, agility in the block, and pure arm strength can all be improved over the coming years. Still more raw than polished in his overall profile, there is plenty to like about where Martinez is at presently, but even more so intrigued about where he can go in the future.