Meet a Prospect: Nolan Martinez

The 2016 MLB Draft is in the books after the New York Yankees selected 40 potential prospects to add to the farm system. We've already met the first two in Blake Rutherford and Nick Solak so this morning we meet the Yankees 3rd round pick, a High School right-handed pitcher named Nolan Martinez.

Martinez was drafted in the third round by the Yankees out of Culver City High School in California, yeah another California pick for Damon Oppenheimer and the Yanks. Martinez was drafted as a pitcher but in High School he could hold his own with the bat as well standings at 6'3" and 165 lbs. Martinez brings a fastball that sits between 87-93 MPH but it can tough 95 MPH with plenty of room to grow into his frame and into his body adding movement and velocity. Martinez also throws a power slider, seemingly the Yankees favorite pitch for a player to throw in their system, that can hit around 78 MPH and that he can command for strikes. Martinez also owns a changeup but it is considered to be raw at this point which is not uncommon for High School pitching. Especially pitching that fell to the third round.

On the scout's scale of 20-80 Martinez has a 55 ranked fastball while his curveball and control are both ranked at 50. His changeup was graded at a 45 and his overall game and repertoire was also ranked as a 45 which made him the 10th best pitcher in the state of California. Again you must remember the Yankees have drafted a High School pitcher and not a college pitcher that is polished and MLB ready. Martinez is a project and he has projectability, that's why New York drafted him in the third round.

So Martinez comes with two above-average pitches and a repeatable delivery that should lead to some durability in the big show. Baseball America ranked Martinez 67th on their rankings while MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus had him 99th and 108th overall respectively. Either way Martinez was said to be excited about joining the organization and that's the type of players we need here. Players that want to be here. Congratulations Nolan and, unofficially of course, welcome to the family!