The San Francisco Giants made it four pitchers in five picks on Saturday, when they used their fourth-round pick (No. 118 overall) on right-handed pitcher Carlos Martinez, a 21-year old from Hofstra. After using the No. 29 and 55 picks on high school pitchers, the Giants are likely to go underslot with Martinez to help facilitate their earlier signings.
That said, this appears to be a cheeky move where the Giants will go underslot not for a lesser talent, but just a riskier one. Martinez — who was
the No. 212 prospect on ESPN’s big board — lost the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery, though he returned this year and pitched well.
Martinez, who is 6’2 and 210 pounds, has a hard slider that serves as his best pitch. In 13 starts with Hofstra this year, he posted a 3.30 ERA and a 3.88 FIP, with 96 strikeouts in 76.1 innings, and 27 walks. Like most pitchers in this range of the draft, he’ll likely be developed as a starter, but his most likely path to the Majors will be through the bullpen.
