Fabio Martinez Claimed By Indians

Fabio Martinez was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians. Fabio Martinez Invades Cleveland is the name of my spaghetti western screenplay starring Danny Trejo and a dog wearing a cowboy hat. Look for it in the summer of 015.

At first glance, losing a High-A pitcher with a 10.72 ERA and a mind-blowing 12.71 BB/9 (woof) isn’t that big of a deal. But the hard-throwing righty was as high as the sixth best prospect in the Angels system according to Baseball America two years ago and came into 2012 ranked 13th.

Martinez missed the final month of 2010 with a shoulder injury which kept him out of most of 2011. I haven’t seen him nor do I pretend to be a scout but you have to wonder if there is lingering damage. The Angels put Martinez on the 40 man roster to avoid losing him in the Rule 5 draft but apparently saw enough to waive him eight months later.

The move is interesting in that Martinez is still young at 22-years-old and there doesn’t appear to be a pressing need for his 40 man roster spot. Pre-injury, Martinez was posting some insane strikeout rates thanks to his fastball that touches 98 mph. Even with the down year, he still boasts a minor league career 11.8 K/9.

Maybe there is still an injury. Maybe he’ll never develop secondary pitches. Maybe he’ll just be a reliever. Maybe he’ll be a starter. Maybe he’ll never make it out of A-ball. Seems like some good free gambling by the Indians. And the Indians are good at gambling, I lost $300 at Foxwoods’ playing roulette. Damn you, number 10.