Cleveland Guardians Top 30 Prospects: #9 Angel Martinez

I am extremely excited to finally be breaking into the single digits of my top 30 Guardians prospects. With every major outlet already publishing their top 100 lists many of the names remaining on my list have already been talked about to a certain degree on the national scale. Of my remaining nine players, six have a legitimate chance to contribute for the Major League team in 2023, either based purely on talent or being the logical replacement should any injuries occur. Every player left also made at least one outlet's or writer's top 100 list, or whatever arbitrary number some writers use.Cleveland's farm is considered one of the best in baseball and it's viewed that way by many a writer, so I'm glad to have my opportunity to talk about these players myself. Sure, I'm a relentless optimist and view things through midnight blue and red-tinted lenses, but when there's excitement for one of Cleveland's players on the national stage I tend to double down. So without further ado let's continue the countdown.My 9th-ranked Cleveland Guardians prospect is Angel Martinez, a middle infielder Cleveland signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2018. Martinez, 21, signed for a bonus of $500,000 and is the son of former Major League catcher Sandy Martinez who happened to play one game for the Indians in 2004. Martinez is the fourth member of the top 30 to have joined the Guardians as an international free agent so far, a healthy sign for the organization.[embed]https://twitter.com/JL_Baseball/status/1544149886760779776?s=20[/embed]Martinez is entering his fifth season with Cleveland, and his fourth playing live games having been a victim of the canceled 2020 Minor League season. He struggled some as a 19-year-old in Low-A returning to baseball in 2021 but has been as consistent as they come for prospects, showing steady growth each season.2022 was no different for Martinez when it came to showing progress. During his age-20 season, Martinez appeared in 101 games between High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron, slashing .278/.378/.471 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs, 12 stolen bases, and 52 walks (12%) to 76 strikeouts (17.5%). He mustered a 139 wRC+ in 77 games for the Captains and a 120 wRC+ in 24 games with the Rubberducks.[embed]https://twitter.com/JL_Baseball/status/1545222889192017925?s=20[/embed]Martinez has played 254 games so far in his professional career posting a .270/.361/.451 triple slash with 53 doubles, 17 triples, 21 home runs, and 124 walks (11.1%) to 193 strikeouts (17.3%). On top of that he has managed to swipe 36 bases — though he's been caught stealing 18 times — and has only posted a wRC+ below 120 once while never posting a walk rate below 10%.There's a lot to be excited about with Martinez, and he's a match made in heaven for Cleveland's current position player philosophy. He has an advanced approach for his age that results in not only a lot of balls in play, but paired with strong bat-to-ball skills he fouls off plenty of pitches to extend at-bats and frustrate opposing pitchers. He's a switch hitter with some budding pull-side power from the left-handed batter's box, and some fairly easy gap double power due to his high contact makeup. Not to mention at 6 foot 165 pounds there's still some projectable power to be found.[embed]https://twitter.com/BallySportsCLE/status/1629967898356662279?s=20[/embed]Defensively Martinez boasts a high baseball IQ, excellent twitch, and a strong arm which allow him to play second base, shortstop, and third base with relative ease. He has above-average speed grades from several outlets, but it has yet to translate consistently to the base paths. There isn't any Death Star thermal exhaust port style fatal flaw in Martinez's profile, representing a safe, high-floor player, but how much power he develops without sacrificing too much of his contact rates and healthy walk numbers will decide how high his ceiling is.I expect Martinez to pick up in 2023 where he left off playing up the middle in Akron, but could be in line for a quick promotion to Triple-A if he continues to show the same steady growth he has each season prior. Any struggles from Jose Tena or a Brayan Rocchio promotion may help to speed up that process. I also expect Martinez to start making some noise as a candidate for updated top 100 lists as players graduate over the course of 2023. His lone appearance in the preseason rankings was landing 57th on FanGraphs' ZiPS top 100.Martinez's already safe, high floor make him an option as a bench or utility player already, but some added power to his already strong profile would cement him as a contender for an everyday role. He has, in my opinion, as good a chance as any of the middle infield prospects to break through to the other side of the logjam at the top of the farm system. I'll be watching to see if the power he showed in 2022 was more than a fluke, but will be the least shocked person when he hits .275 and walks over 11% of the time in 2023. That's just the kind of prospect Martinez is.The List so Far:10. Cody Morris11. Justin Campbell12. Jose Tena13. Xzavion Curry14. Gabriel Arias15. Jaison Chourio16. Will Brennan17. Joey Cantillo18. Juan Brito19. Nate Furman20. Petey Halpin21. Parker Messick22. Doug Nikhazy23. Tanner Burns24. Joe Lampe25. Isaiah Greene26. Jake Fox27. Jhonkensy Noel28. Jack Leftwich29. Trenton Denholm30. Peyton Battenfield