Seth Martinez, a right-hander with the Astros, didn’t allow a run until his 12th outing of the year. Seth Martinez, a right-hander with the Astros, didn’t allow a run until his 12th outing of the year.
Seth Martinez delivered the brilliant performance the Astros have come to anticipate from the rookie right-hander as he faced the team that had picked him in 2016 but had never promoted him to the major leagues in four years.
By striking out two hitters to end Friday’s 8-3 victory for Houston and perhaps give the Oakland management pause about letting him slip through their hands, Martinez deceitfully eased through the heart of the A’s hitting order.
Martinez was chosen by the A’s in the 17th round of the draft out of Arizona State and was sent to the Arizona League. Over the course of the following few seasons, he progressed through the organization’s ranks, eventually being promoted to Class AA in 2019.
He started the 2017 season with Oakland’s Class A Short Season club.
Martinez was chosen by the Astros in the 2020 Rule 5 draft and will begin the 2021 season with Class AAA Sugar Land. Before being called up to make his MLB debut on September 20, 2021, he had a 2.81 ERA in 36 appearances at Sugar Land.
Martinez used a typical, harder, shorter slider that was more akin to a cutter when he was with the Athletics.