Phillies take Michael Martinez in Rule 5 Draft

by PhillyFriar on Dec 9, 2010 9:55 AM EST

Get excited, folks!

Michael Martinez is a 28-year old hailing from the Washington Nationals' farm system. He's been described as an "athletic second baseman," who's also played a fair bit of shortstop in his career, and he even picked up an outfielder's mitt for 39 games last year (playing mostly center). So, defensive versatility is a plus here, and you can add switch-hitting ability and speed (58 23 stolen bases last year, though only at a 65.7%% clip) to the positive side of the ledger. [EDIT: apparently I'm incapable of simple tasks like, for instance, copying stats from a player's B-R profile.]

The bad news is that Martinez can't hit... like, at all. He's at a cumulative .263/.315/.368 with the stick over the course of his minor league career, with a .272/.312/.408 line split between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse last year. Meaning, well, turning Martinez into an acceptable major league hitter would probably be Charlie Manuel's greatest success story.

Still, not a bad flier for $50K. Martinez could make some sense as a 25th man capable of pinch running, serving as a defensive replacement, and hitting along the lines of what Eric Bruntlett did.

The Phillies also selected Rockies farmhand Chris Frey in the minor league portion of the draft. Frey's a 26-year old speedy center fielder with little power, and should provide organizational depth in either Reading or Lehigh Valley. The club did not lose anyone in either portion of the draft.

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Comments

LOL

We posted the news at the EXACT SAME TIME! Of course you have front page privilege, so mine can fall into the dark recesses of the FanPost bin…

by NowWhat? on Dec 9, 2010 9:58 AM EST reply actions

Well this isn’t the diamond in the rough that I wanted, but his ass is in jail. Maybe a M. Bourne in the making?

by j reed on Dec 9, 2010 10:45 AM EST reply actions

Who did you want?

by dannijd on Dec 9, 2010 3:45 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

elijah dukes

by j reed on Dec 9, 2010 6:09 PM EST up reply actions

Not in the rule V, obviously, but I’m still hopeful Rube takes a flier on him.

by Cormican on Dec 9, 2010 8:23 PM EST up reply actions

once he gets out of jail

by j reed on Dec 10, 2010 12:06 AM EST up reply actions

Per MLB.com, the Phillies also took 24-year-old RHP Justin Friend out of Oakland’s system.

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

by wildcatlh on Dec 9, 2010 11:22 AM EST reply actions

minor league portion, right?

by taco pal on Dec 9, 2010 11:47 AM EST up reply actions

Yep

Played last year at AA Midland

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

by wildcatlh on Dec 9, 2010 11:57 AM EST up reply actions

Thanks, missed that in the immediate roundup.

‘07 pick out of Oklahoma State… wonder if the area scout really liked him back in the day when he saw Tyler Mach. Friend isn’t a big velocity guy, and his career numbers are just alright, so he’s more of a depth guy than an actual prospect.

by PhillyFriar on Dec 9, 2010 11:59 PM EST up reply actions

I kind of want to say that every Rule 5 selection should be a pitcher, since they’re so much easier to stash on a roster. But I know there are exceptions to that, like Victorino.

by taco pal on Dec 9, 2010 11:47 AM EST reply actions

Martinez seems usable, though he might make Valdez kind of redundant.

by Cormican on Dec 9, 2010 12:35 PM EST up reply actions

I think with where the team is now that’s a good point. Vic. and other diamonds in the rough types like werth came into play once the team had it’s core established but need a few more parts to put us in contention. At the time the core was young enough such that experimenting was possible without loosing the window when the core would peak. If they didn’t work out then they still had the FA option to explore.

by j reed on Dec 9, 2010 6:26 PM EST up reply actions

Except we stashed Vic in AAA when the offer back was declined

by EJL on Dec 9, 2010 9:08 PM EST up reply actions

This is OT, but man I wish people would stop saying teams “give” contracts or money to this or that player. They’re not gifts.

by yolacrary on Dec 9, 2010 11:47 AM EST reply actions

Jeter’s is, mostly.

by Cormican on Dec 9, 2010 12:35 PM EST up reply actions

That’s JETER not Jeter

by j reed on Dec 9, 2010 6:10 PM EST up reply actions

This is exactly what I had in mind when i lamented the seeming age of jimmy rollins (in baseball years, to me) and the lack of any one coming anytime soon.

Thanks ruben

you douche

by SportingFanaticism on Dec 9, 2010 12:00 PM EST reply actions