After sitting on the bench for his first two games with the Toronto Blue Jays, Orelvis Martinez got his chance to play on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Martinez, 22, played second base and batted eighth in the series opener at Progressive Field. He finished the game 1-for-3 with a single and a strikeout.
His single came in the sixth inning as he hit a line drive to shallow centrefield off Guardians pitcher Carlos Carrasco.
The Dominican native is tied for second in the International League with 16 home runs in 63 games for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons this year.
Thirty-six of his starts have come at second base for Buffalo this year.
The Blue Jays, of course, have been woeful in the power department this year, so they’re hopeful Martinez can give them a boost.
Appearing on Blair & Barker on Friday, manager John Schneider said he expects Martinez to play at least a couple of times in the weekend series against Cleveland.
“Off the bat, it comes off hard, it comes off different,” Schneider said of Martinez’s strength. “Big leg kick. I think he has the ability to adjust to fastballs in multiple spots in the zone. That’s something we talk about with a lot of our minor-league hitters. He can definitely hit the fastball.
“What’s been his area of focus is just strike-zone command. When he’s swinging at pitches in the zone, it reminds a lot of people of a guy like Vlad (Guerrero Jr.). You don’t want to really compare, they’re different. But I think the way he can impact the baseball is something that’s hard to replicate.”
Fellow recent call-up Addison Barger will play third base and Yariel Rodriguez makes his first start since going on the injured list in April.
Watch the Jays-Guardians game on Friday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+.