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Francis Martes

Francis Martes Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Astros righty Francis Martes has undergone Tommy John surgery — technically announced as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction — according to the organization (h/t Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, on Twitter). He’s expected to be sidelined for twelve to sixteen months.

Martes, once considered one of the game’s very best pitching prospects, had been shut down for much of the present season owing to elbow problems. Now, he’ll almost certainly miss the entire 2019 campaign.

Though Martes wasn’t quite as successful as might’ve been hoped when he debuted last year, with a 5.80 ERA in his first 54 1/3 MLB frames, his skills still seemed plenty intriguing for a pitcher working in his age-21 season. Martes pumped 96 mph heaters and carried a 12.4% swinging-strike rate at the game’s highest level.

Entering camp this season, Martes was clearly in need of refinement to reach his projected ceiling as a high-end starter. But there was still quite a bit of promise for the youngster as things got underway.

Unfortunately, the elbow difficulties arose in camp and have never fully subsided. Martes won’t even accumulate twenty frames this year in the minors. In the four Triple-A starts he was able to make, he issued 17 walks to go with 16 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.

Quick Hits: Asia Prospects, Former Prospects, DL Usage

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Fangraphs analysis is as sharp and poignant as ever, providing deep looks into a number of interesting subjects over the past few days. Among those pieces is one by Sung Min Kim, who offers detailed scouting reports on six MLB prospects currently playing in Asia. The list is limited to players who would be available to leave Asia in the next three years; players on the list have also either expressed interest in coming to MLB or not publicly refuted the possibility. Among these six players is Yusei Kikuchi, a lefty fireballer who has openly expressed a strong desire to play in MLB (Kim compares him to Patrick Corbin). Another interesting name on the list is outfielder Po-Jung Wang of the Chinese Professional Baseball League; he’s won two MVPs and put up a .407/.491/.700 slash line in the CPBL. Anyone interested in tracking baseball players who might transition from Asia leagues to MLB should certainly give this list a thorough read.

A couple of other interesting articles from Fangraphs…

  • Eric Longenhagen did some scouting of his own for his latest piece, though he focused on players who have already cracked a major-league roster. Specifically, Longenhagen has notes on twelve players who have already graduated from prospect status but have somewhat uncertain futures and only a small sample size of MLB playing time to draw from. Astros righty Francis Martes, for example, is described as a player who is “athletic enough to merit command projection in the minors, but we haven’t seen him need to work efficiently for a while because he was bullpen’d last year.” New Cardinals addition Miles Mikolas is said to have improved command after a stint in Japan, and currently profiles as a solid fourth starter. The list has some interesting names who haven’t been frequently covered, and can provide avid fans with a few intriguing storylines to follow for the coming season.
  • Many aspects of MLB gameplay are changing at a rapid pace. One of the more extreme examples is DL usage, which Travis Sawchik covered recently. Last year’s switch from a 15-day DL to a 10-day DL resulted in a record number of DL stints, as predicted. Clubs like the Dodgers used it aggressively as a roster manipulation tool, making it “something of a revolving, de facto 26th-man roster spot.” Sawchik expects that we’ll see an increase in the number of DL stints once again next year. He also notes that even with the five-day reduction from 15 to 10, there was only a marginal decrease in the total number of days players spent on the DL last season, which perhaps implies that players overall were not very healthy in 2017.

Astros Promote Francis Martes

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The Astros have promoted their top pitching prospect, right-hander Francis Martes, reports Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Martes will initially work out of the Astros’ bullpen, Kaplan adds. With Houston already at the 40-man limit, it’ll need to drop someone in order to make room for Martes.

The Astros are the second major league organization for the Dominican-born Martes, who originally signed with the Marlins as an international free agent in 2012. Martes joined the Astros in 2014 as part of a trade involving Jarred Cosart and Jake Marisnick, among others, and has since blossomed into a high-end prospect. In its most recent prospect rankings, MLB.com places Martes 15th. Meanwhile, Baseball America (17th), FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen (18th), Baseball Prospectus (28th) and ESPN’s Keith Law (37th) also have high hopes for the 21-year-old.

Unlike last season, when he handled Double-A with a 3.30 ERA 9.41 K/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate across 125 1/3 innings, Martes has struggled to produce positive results this year. In his first taste of Triple-A action, Martes has pitched to a 5.29 ERA over eight starts and 32 1/3 frames. Along the way, Martes has struck out an impressive 10.58 batters per nine, but his walk rate has shot from 3.38 last year to 7.79 this season and his grounder mark has dropped to 39.4 percent.

Despite his subpar output this year, Martes’ stuff could pave the way for him to immediately hold his own out of the Astros’ already loaded bullpen. Martes has two above-average pitches – a 93 to 96 mph fastball that can reach the high 90s and a quality curveball –  per MLB.com, which notes that he also possesses an improving changeup and a developing slider.

It’s unclear if Martes will get an opportunity to start in the majors this year, but he could figure into the mix at some point if the Astros don’t get more from their complementary rotation pieces. While Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. have thrived in 2017, the rest of the Astros’ starters have battled injuries and/or ineffectiveness. Nevertheless, the team is a major league-best 42-18 and has already established a 12-game lead in the American League West. Now, a Houston club with no shortage of young talent will get a look at yet another potential long-term cog.

With regards to service time, Martes should fall short of Super Two eligibility if he spends the rest of the season with the Astros. As a result, he wouldn’t make a trip through arbitration until after the 2020 season or qualify for free agency until the conclusion of the 2023 campaign. But Martes’ promotion could be a short one to aid a bullpen that Kaplan notes is currently “taxed.”

Cafardo’s Latest: Braves, Quintana, Martes, Hosmer

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe shares a few hot stove items in his weekly notes column…

  • The Braves have had some interest in trading for White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, though Atlanta president of baseball operations John Hart says his rebuilding team isn’t quite ready to make that kind of major deal.  “We’re still growing this team.  Our whole mantra has been young players,” Hart said.  “It’s worked.  We like where we’ve gone.  Our farm system has gone from worst to first.  At this point we’re probably likely not going to move these [prospects].”
  • More from Hart, who said that the Braves “haven’t really entertained anything” in regards to trade offers for veterans, including Nick Markakis.  “Nick is a good piece. He’s a super pro player….We’ll look at what happens this year, but he’s an affordable guy,” Hart said.  Markakis is owed $10.5MM in both 2017 and 2018.  The Braves somewhat surprisingly signed Markakis to a four-year, $44MM deal in the 2014-15 offseason just as the team was beginning its rebuild, and the veteran has hit .282/.358/.386 over 1370 PA since coming to Atlanta.
  • Quintana may be the biggest name who could be traded before Opening Day, though the White Sox are steadfast in their demands for a big return and are prepared to keep Quintana until someone finally meets the asking price.  Cafardo sees the Dodgers as a sleeper for Quintana, as Los Angeles has a good farm system and is dealing with some injury questions in the rotation.
  • “The Astros seem to be the team most engaged” on Quintana, though Houston didn’t budge when the White Sox asked for a trade package of Francis Martes, Kyle Tucker and Joe Musgrove earlier this offseason.  Cafardo notes that Martes is the specific stumbling block in talks, as the Astros are naturally unwilling to give up one of the sport’s most highly-touted pitching prospects.
  • The Royals are reportedly preparing to shop their multiple free agent veterans if they fall out of contention this summer, and Cafardo says K.C. is looking at the Red Sox as a possible trade partner for Eric Hosmer.  Boston could pursue Hosmer as a rental if Mitch Moreland isn’t performing, though the Sox also have an intriguing internal first base option in minor leaguer Sam Travis.

Pitching Notes: Quintana, Ryu, Weaver, Iglesias

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Pittsburgh has pursued a trade for White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana over the past several months, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington found the asking price to be “well above where it made sense for us” (via ESPN’s Jim Bowden). With the Bucs seemingly out of the picture for Quintana, the Astros and Braves are the “best possibilities,” per Bowden, who notes that the White Sox “continue to work hard” to trade the 28-year-old. No deal is imminent, though, according to Bowden, who adds that the Astros would have to part with both right-hander Francis Martes and outfielder Kyle Tucker, two of Baseball America’s top 20 prospects, to acquire Quintana (all Twitter links). Houston balked at giving up a package of Martes, Tucker and righty Joe Musgrove for Quintana during the Winter Meetings.

For his part, White Sox GM Rick Hahn is content to wait until someone makes what he deems a satisfactory offer for Quintana, who’s reasonably priced and controllable through the 2020 season. “We’ve had conversations even this spring where if our asks was met, we’d make a move,” Hahn told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “Obviously nothing has developed as of yet, but that could well change early in the season or it could take to the trade deadline or into the next offseason” (Twitter links).

The latest on a few other pitchers:

  • Remarkably, after missing almost all of the previous two years because of shoulder problems, Dodgers southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu is making a strong case to crack their season-opening rotation, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Ryu threw four scoreless, one-hit innings against Milwaukee on Tuesday, giving him nine frames of one-run ball for the spring. Manager Dave Roberts made it clear afterward that the Dodgers want him in their rotation, saying: “When we look back a year, where he’s come from, he’s done nothing but allow us to be very optimistic. Every time he’s gotten better and we’re building him up to be a starter and break camp with us. That’s the plan on our end. He worked hard to put himself in a position where he’s at right now. We’re a better team if he’s in the starting rotation.” With Julio Urias likely to begin the season in extended spring training and Scott Kazmir looking for his lost velocity, two of Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Alex Wood figure to claim the Dodgers’ available starting spots.
  • Padres righty Jered Weaver is dealing with a dead arm, tweets Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Weaver has also battled that issue in previous springs, notes Lin, though it’s not exactly encouraging news for a soft-tossing 34-year-old who’s coming off the two worst seasons of his career. Weaver indicated last week that he’s physically “10 steps above” where he was last year, when he piled up 178 innings with the Angels and logged the fourth-worst ERA (5.06) and second-highest FIP (5.62) among the majors’ qualified starters. The former ace lasted two-thirds of an inning in his start against the Royals on Wednesday and yielded four runs on three hits. He also hit two batters.
  • Already sans their best starter, the injured Anthony DeSclafani, as Opening Day approaches, the Reds might also begin 2017 without top reliever Raisel Iglesias, who hasn’t pitched since March 14. An elbow issue has kept Iglesias out of action, but an MRI only showed a bone bruise, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “The good news is that it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a huge setback or there are any structural issues at all,” said manager Bryan Price. “The negative is that he’s going to have four more days off before he begins to throw again and we’ll have to see how comfortable we are by Opening Day or maybe before that.” A former starter, Iglesias was among the few bright spots in a historically inept Reds bullpen last year, when he posted a 1.98 ERA, 9.72 K/9 and 3.42 BB/9 in 50 innings as a reliever. Health permitting, the 27-year-old will serve as a high-leverage bullpen weapon this season.

AL Notes: Mariners, Astros, Twins, White Sox

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While Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger wasn’t the headliner in the November trade that saw him go from Arizona to Seattle, the M’s have high hopes for the 26-year-old, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. A 2012 first-round pick and former Brewers prospect, Haniger hit a below-average .229/.309/.404 in the first 129 plate appearances of his major league career last season, though his video game-like .341/.428/.670 line in 312 Triple-A PAs wowed Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto. “By the numbers, (Haniger) was able to show that he was the best offensive player (last year) in the minor leagues at any level,” said Dipoto. “He’s also a right-handed batter, and we acquired him for that reason. Mitch is also the one that brings with him a skill set that includes power, and he’s got on-base ability.” Dipoto expects Haniger to serve as the Mariners’ everyday right fielder this year, which would leave Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia to fight for a reserve role.

More from the American League:

  • The Astros haven’t been willing to give up 21-year-old pitching prospect Francis Martes in a deal for White Sox ace Jose Quintana, and it’s no surprise, given the Houston organization’s opinion of Martes. “He’s got as high a ceiling as probably any righty in the major leagues,” Astros assistant general manager Mike Elias told David Laurila of FanGraphs. “He has such a gifted arm, and such a weapon breaking ball, plus the changeup as a third pitch. Something that can be lost sight of is how young he is. He went to Double-A (late in the 2015 season) and held his own. In and of itself, that says something. If you look at the list of guys who have pitched well in Double-A at age 19, it’s a really, really impressive list.” If Martes’ effectiveness continues in 2017, “his road to Houston could be a very fast one,” per Elias.
  • Twins reliever Glen Perkins threw only two innings last season – both in early April – before undergoing June surgery to repair a torn labrum. Perkins’ recovery from the procedure “has gone well,” but “there’s no reason to rush” back, he informed Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. With that in mind, Perkins could begin the season on the disabled list. “It’s going to be down to the finish line at the end of spring training whether I’m ready or not,” said the 34-year-old. Long an adept late-game option, the left-handed Perkins amassed no fewer than 32 saves in each season from 2013-15. Brandon Kintzler grabbed the ninth-inning reins last year for the Perkins-less Twins, who are still scouring the open market for relief help.
  • Victor Diaz is the least heralded prospect in the four-player package the White Sox received from the Red Sox in exchange for ace Chris Sale last month, but Chicago regards the hard-throwing right-hander as a quality piece. The 22-year-old Diaz is a prospect worth dreaming on and could move quickly toward the majors, according to White Sox senior director of baseball operations Dan Fabian (Twitter link via Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago). Diaz, a reliever capable of hitting triple digits on the radar gun, tossed 60 1/3 innings at the Low-A level last season.

White Sox Asked Astros For Musgrove, Martes, Tucker In Return For Jose Quintana

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During the Winter Meetings, it emerged that the Astros had asked the White Sox about lefty Jose Quintana, and that the Astros believed the White Sox’ price to be too steep. Today, Peter Gammons tweets that the White Sox asked the Astros for big-league righty Joe Musgrove plus their top two prospects, righty Francis Martes and outfielder Kyle Tucker.

The White Sox’ ask continued their pattern of aiming high (which has worked twice so far this week) and suggests it might be true that, as has previously been reported, the White Sox see no pressing need to trade Quintana, who is controllable at reasonable prices through 2020. The 27-year-old Quintana has emerged as a workhorse, throwing 200-plus high-quality innings in each of the last four seasons. Last season, he posted a 3.20 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 208 frames.

The 24-year-old Musgrove had a successful rookie season last year, posting a 4.06 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 62 innings. Baseball America ranked him the No. 86 prospect in baseball heading into the season.

Martes has emerged as the Astros’ best prospect since arriving from the Marlins’ system in the Jarred Cosart deal in 2014. The 21-year-old posted a 3.30 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 125 1/3 innings at Double-A Corpus Christi in 2016, winning praise from MLB.com (which ranks him the No. 29 prospect in the game) for his 93-95 MPH fastball and filthy curveball.

Tucker was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft, and MLB.com now ranks him the No. 50 prospect in baseball. The 19-year-old held his own at Class A Quad Cities in 2016, batting .276/.348/.402, then hit very well in a small sample after heading to Class A+ Lancaster.

AL Notes: Chapman, Yankees, Encarnacion, Astros, Tigers

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The Yankees believe that the Marlins’ unexpected pursuit of Aroldis Chapman — Miami reportedly offered Chapman a five-year deal worth $87MM — forced New York to spend about $10-15MM more than they would otherwise have had to offer in order to finalize the deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Sherman also adds that the Yankees are still hoping to add a starting pitcher and multiple relievers (one of the left-handed variety), though the Cashman said earlier this week that he doesn’t anticipate adding a free-agent starter due to the high asking prices around the league (via Sherman’s colleague George A. King III).

More from around the American League…

  • In an interesting read for Yankees fans (or for any fan, really), Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues examines the decision to re-sign Chapman from a variety of angles. Axisa questions whether the Yankees, who currently look to be a ways behind Boston in terms of expected 2017 performance, did the right thing in “paying a lot of money now to buy Chapman for the future” and notes the possibility that Chapman will be opting out of his deal just as the bulk of New York’s vaunted young talent is solidifying itself at the big league level. The move also flies somewhat in the face of the desire to get below the luxury tax threshold, Axisa observes, and there are of course ongoing public relations considerations due to last October’s domestic violence allegations.
  • Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that many in the industry still consider the Rangers to be the most logical landing spot for free agent Edwin Encarnacion. Texas reportedly feels that it doesn’t have the financial means to fit Encarnacion into the budget, but GM Jon Daniels and his staff have certainly made some creative value plays for free agents whose markets have crumbled a bit in the past.
  • The Astros prefer not to move upper-level prospects in their search for rotation upgrades, GM Jeff Luhnow tells MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Houston has been asked about top prospect Francis Martes on numerous occasions, McTaggart writes, though Luhnow downplayed the possibility of dealing the right-hander. “The players we’re staying away from are the players that are probably going to start the year on the big league club and are key parts of the 2017 plan,” said the Houston GM. “Martes is a very valuable player, and very valuable players that are close to the big leagues get asked about a lot. That’s no different with him. It would take something significant for us to move him.” McTaggart also notes that outfield prospect Kyle Tucker is “generally considered untouchable.”
  • The Tigers aren’t pursuing an Andrew McCutchen trade tweets MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. They’ve also yet to get involved with the recently non-tendered Ben Revere, tweets MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Detroit has a clear question mark in center field at the moment, but the team is also well-known to be striving to shed payroll and get younger. With that in mind, a pursuit of McCutchen never would’ve made much sense for GM Al Avila’s club, though Revere could be a low-cost option that would have plenty of surplus value in the event of a rebound from last year’s disastrous season.

Trade Rumors: Hill, A’s, Royals, BoSox, Yanks, Dodgers

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In his first start since May 29, Athletics left-hander Rich Hill returned from a groin injury to throw six innings of two-run, four-hit ball and rack up six strikeouts against two walks Saturday. Several playoff contenders sent representatives to observe Hill’s outing against the Pirates, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Incidentally, the Bucs were among the teams scouting him. In addition, four of the 36-year-old journeyman’s previous employers – the Orioles, Red Sox, Cubs and Yankees – as well as the Dodgers and Royals were in attendance to watch Hill, who could be the best starter dealt before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The free agent-to-be has been brilliant when healthy this year, recording a 2.31 ERA, 10.29 K/9, 49.7 percent ground-ball rate and 15.3 percent infield fly rate in 70 innings. Dating back to his four-start revival in Boston last September, the out-of-nowhere ace has put up a tremendous 2.09 ERA in 99 frames.

More of the latest pre-deadline rumors:

  • Along with Hill, the Royals also have interest in Athletics right fielder Josh Reddick, according to Slusser. However, they do not wish to reunite with another A’s trade chip, third baseman Danny Valencia. Kansas City was a rumored landing spot as of last week for Valencia, who was with the Royals in 2014 and should draw plenty of attention from other teams as the deadline nears.
  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported Sunday that the Blue Jays have been scouting the Astros’ system, though he didn’t specify which players interested Toronto. It turns out that one prospect who intrigues the Jays is Double-A right-hander Francis Martes, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. Martes would be difficult to acquire, however, given that he’s among baseball’s premier prospects. Entering the season, Baseball America placed Martes 20th overall in its rankings. In its updated list, MLB.com has the 20-year-old at No. 36. In 63 2/3 innings this season, the hard-throwing Martes has logged a 4.10 ERA, 8.48 K/9 and 4.52 BB/9.
  • While Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com expects the Angels’ Matt Shoemaker to garner interest leading up to the deadline, he doesn’t envision the Halos trading controllable starting pitching depth (Twitter link). The desperate-for-starters Red Sox – who roughed up Shoemaker on Sunday – would make sense as a trade partner if the Angels do make the righty available, opines Tim Britton of the Providence Journal (via Twitter). After a terrible first month of the season and a demotion to the minors, Shoemaker rejoined the Angels in May and has performed like an elite-level ace of late – Sunday notwithstanding. During an eight-start span prior to the Angels’ trip to Fenway Park, the 29-year-old amassed 57 2/3 innings, allowed 12 earned runs and piled up 68 strikeouts against a paltry five walks. As Gonzalez alluded to when mentioning team control, Shoemaker will make his first trip through arbitration during the upcoming offseason.

West Notes: Utley, Kimbrel, Astros, Padres

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The suspension appeal for Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley has been delayed, reports the Associated Press.  Utley was suspended two games for his role in the play that broke Ruben Tejada’s leg in Game 2 of the NLDS.  However, with the Dodgers eliminated from the postseason, there is less urgency to conduct the appeal immediately.  This is the first notable example of a player being suspended for overzealously attempting to break-up a double play.  If the suspension is ultimately upheld, Utley will be suspended for the first two contest of 2016. The Dodgers hold a club option on Utley valued between $5MM and $11MM, based on days spent on the disabled list.

Here’s more from the West divisions..

  • Utley’s hearing will be postponed until later this year or possibly next spring, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter links).  The CBA mandates that the hearing must take place within 14 days after the player has filed the appeal, but the hearings can be postponed upon mutual agreement between the parties involved.  The appeal will be heard by MLB’s John McHale, not an independent arbitrator.
  • A package of three Astros pitchers – Francis Martes, Josh Hader, and Joseph Musgrove – most likely would have the convinced the Padres to part with closer Craig Kimbrel, a baseball source told Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. However, a third piece, thought to be Musgrove, was too rich for Houston’s blood.   The Padres could very well make Kimbrel available once again this winter.
  • Meanwhile, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow believes that his club has an opportunity to become an annual contender.  “We’re in a great position as an organization because our payroll’s going to continue to increase as revenues increase,” Luhnow said. “Our young players are going to continue to come through the system, and we have some assets. We’ve got some benefits, some advantages that other clubs maybe don’t have.  We’ve got one of the top farm systems in baseball still while having a young team at the major league level that’s already competing. That’s the ideal situation. Now, we want to maintain that for a long time to come.”

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