Today: LAD Prospect Ethan Martin
A hard-hitting third baseman who's also a top pitching prospect, Ethan Martin was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round of 2008 (15th overall) after a year in which he was disciplined for conspiring to have an umpire beaned in a championship game. It's fair to say that with his raw ability, there are also questions of makeup.
The Dodgers have a history of drafting two-way players (they turned pitcher James Loney into a first baseman, after all), and when the Dodgers drafted Martin he was announced as a third baseman. But when the team signed Martin on July 11th, the team's press release explained the intention to develop him as a pitcher.
And he should be a very good pitcher, too. When not arranging to have umpires drilled in the face, Martin was very effective in his senior high school season. The 2008 Georgia State Player of the Year mounted an 11-1 campaign from the mound, and managed an eye-popping ERA of 0.99. He struck out 141 batters in 79 innings.
Continuing to pursue a pitching career raises Martin's ceiling quite a bit, but it also lengthens the time it will take to develop the teenager. His raw stuff is promising, obviously, with a 95mph fastball that has natural sink, and the makings of a quality curve. There's no hint of a usable changeup yet, but that's common in such young arms, and the deception and finesse required to throw a plus change is something that comes with experience and coaching. That the Dodgers have one of the best coaching staffs in baseball when it comes to handling pitchers is another plus in Martin's book.
At the plate, he's a big strong player with plus power, though his contact skills aren't terrific. It shouldn't matter, since he won't be a position player again unless a serious setback cripples his pitching ability, or if after several years he fails to make progress on the mound. One way or the other, he'll be one of the Dodgers very best prospects by 2010.
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