Milwaukee Brewers 1B Ernesto Martinez Scouting Report, March 2018

Tall stance to start with small leg kick and hip turn into load; long stride out forward with tendency to leak out front. Average bat speed, but physical upside and raw strength for plenty more. Athletic with some quick-twitch action still to come, but tendency right now to be long through swing; will get beat by good velocity, particularly up in the zone, due to long windup through load and fire. Also shows early tendency to get beat on front foot by off-speed; poor pitch recognition and bad strike zone discipline betray him with over-aggressiveness. Extremely raw in approach at the plate; inconsistent; misses hittable pitches without consistent timing & mechanics. Tons of development ahead, but unlikely to ever hit for average; power figures to be the tool that will flourish.

Impressive raw power; puts on a show in batting practice with a ton of natural physical strength and ample leverage to drive the ball. Bat speed and timing need a bit of work to actualize power in games; too easy to leak out on front foot on off-speed; also shows tendency to over-extend on stride and lose natural leverage from lower half. Context matters — may partially be a mid-March issue, but definite work to be done to figure out timing and stride length. Will produce lofty, high fly ball power when right; going to hit some long, towering home runs. Huge physical upside; already shows a ton of natural strength with more to come; easy 7 power at ceiling as impressive, middle-of-the-order home run threat, but long road to get there.

Very raw at first base; moves well laterally, especially considering size, and shows off surprising range getting to the ball away from the bag. Hands must improve; early tendency to kick routine balls; struggles to field ground balls and short hops cleanly, but he’ll get in front and knock it down to make a play. Very flexible through lower half with plenty of height and size, making him a good target; multiple times in spring work I watched him go into a full leg split stretching out to catch throws; surprising flexibility for size and build, and plenty of athleticism, even as he lacks feel. Early enough in his career that he could still make a move to the outfield, but there should be enough here with consistent reps to make first base his everyday fit.

Very, very strong arm. Quick arm action with short swing in the back; quick release, especially considering his size and raw arm strength. Org source claimed Martinez touches 95 mph across the diamond. Good accuracy on throws with enough consistency to stay through target without fading to arm-side. Stays on top of the ball and consistently fires down on to target with arm action and height working in his favor. Arm strength is a big part of the reason I hypothesize about a future move to the outfield; tough to see him waste such exceptional arm strength at first base.

Timed 4.24 up the line from LHH box; 4.60 on the turn at first; 8.31 home to second. Really, solid speed considering size; moves well with long strides up the line. Decent quickness on first step considering size; really gets going after a few steps to top speed; picks up a ton of ground with each stride. Beyond objective speed, defensive footwork is encouraging; light on his feet at first base with surprisingly good range; covers a lot of ground away from the bag. Sneaky overall athleticism — defensive footwork and lower body flexibility both really surprised me considering his imposing physical build and stereotypical power hitter look.

Extremely, extremely raw. Loud tools, but extremely inexperienced; incredibly high upside with very long road ahead; plenty of risk in development, but really enticing as a pure projection play. Decent feel for English already in speaking with teammates and coaches; seemed very popular with peers in camp; drew tons of attention. Plays with a smile on his face; really looks like he enjoys the game, doesn’t take himself too seriously. Coachable attitude; doesn’t get down on himself through (plentiful) mistakes; showed strong, willing work ethic. Son of a former pro ballplayer. Physical stature is truly impressive; built like a football tight end with some physical projection to add even a bit more muscle to his frame. Will be a beast in a couple years when he fills out, but already showing off good strength base and encouraging athleticism. Tons of upside banking on his raw, loud tools catching up to his impressive, big league physicality. We’ll see if he ever gets there.

FV is a pure projection considering how unbelievably raw he is right now, both in approach at the plate and defensive execution at first base. Ernesto Martinez has the raw, loud tools to really be a difference-maker in a few years, but it’ll take considerable development to see it. Easy to imagine him as a plus/All-Star first baseman in an everyday role with the power to hit three dozen bombs for the Milwaukee Brewers every year; equally easy to imagine him flaming out in Double-A after failing to adjust to pro pitching. All things considered, Ernesto Martinez is a nice projection play for the Milwaukee Brewers and a fun prospect to follow the next couple years; road ahead will be long and bumpy, though. Not a guy worth analyzing every box score through short-season/low minors; let’s see where he is in 24 months. MLB ETA: 2023.