Miami Marlins Prospect Watch: Starting Pitcher Leudy Martinez

Miami Marlins prospect Leudy Martinez dropped his ERA by over half in his second DSL season.

Throughout the 2018/2019 offseason, Marlin Maniac will devote one article each for every player who appeared in the Miami Marlins system for the 2018 season. Every. Single. Player. This is Part 254 of 286.

Leudy Martinez is a 6’2″, 180 lb. right-handed batting and throwing pitcher from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, population 965,040. There have been 177 players in the major leagues who started out in the city, including Jarlin Garcia, Jose Urena, and Marcel Ozuna.

Martinez was born on June 9th, 2000, and signed his first professional deal with the Miami Marlins just after his 16th birthday, on July 2nd, 2016. Assigned initially to the DSL Marlins in the rookie-level Dominican Summer League, he made his pro debut with them for the 2017 season.

Martinez started 12 games for the DSL Marlins that season, ranking second on the club. He posted an 0-5 record and a 4.97 ERA, striking out 22 over 29 innings of work. He also walked 18 and allowed 28 hits and 26 runs, 16 of them earned, and finished the campaign with a 1.59 WHIP.

Not quite ready for a promotion, Martinez remained with the DSL Marlins in 2018. He was second on the team in victories to Luis Palacios, posting a 6-1 record, and also placed third on the squad with 58 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings. His 9.58 K/9 was second on the team behind only Geremy Galindez. He posted a 2.44 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, allowing 19 walks and 36 hits. Opponents hit .197/.279/.268 over 208 plate appearances.

More from Marlins Prospects

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• Miami Marlins: How top 2022 MLB Draft picks performed this season
• What’s wrong with Kahlil Watson?
• Miami Marlins: Farm System rankings part 2
• Miami Marlins: Farm System rankings part 1

In only two of Martinez’ 14 appearances did he allow more hits than he had innings pitched. On July 18th, he struck out seven over five innings, allowing only a double and no runs in a 3-2 victory against the DSL Astros. On August 4th, Martinez struck out six over five shutout innings, and allowed only two hits and a walk in a 2-0 victory against the DSL Astros.

Martinez grew by leaps and bounds between his first and second professional season. After his solid 2018, he’s probably ready for a promotion, at least to the Florida-based rookie-level GCL Marlins in the Gulf Coast League.

If Martinez continues the developmental path that he’s started on, he would be getting a shot to make the major league roster sometime probably between 2023 and 2025. In the meantime, we’ll continue to track him and all the other Miami Marlins prospects here on Marlin Maniac.

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