Texas Rangers prospect Julio Pablo Martinez hits for cycle in Arizona Fall League

The Texas Rangers signed the top prospect out of Cuba last winter and saw him make his way stateside in his pro debut this summer. On Monday, he hit for the cycle against some of the best prospects in baseball.

The Texas Rangers signed Julio Pablo Martinez from Cuba last offseason as their “consolation prize” after missing out on Shohei Ohtani earlier in the offseason. Martinez was considered the top prospect from Cuba in the 2017-2018 signing class. Tuesday, he had a big day at the plate that should get him more on the national stage.

While he stands just 5’9″ tall, Julio Pablo Martinez packs quite a punch in his swing, but it’s his all-around game that made him so valuable. In his last season in Cuba, he hit .333/.469/.498 with 6 home runs and 24 steals, posting an impressive 52/30 BB/K ratio.

Martinez opened the 2018 season in the Dominican Summer League, where he tore the cover off the ball, hitting .409/.606/.682 in 7 games. He was promoted to the short-season A-ball Northwest League to the Spokane affiliate. He struggled out of the gate quite heavily, but he rallied hard to finish his season, and by the end of the year, his combined numbers between both levels were .266/.378/.457 with 9 home runs and 13 stolen bases.

Martinez is playing this fall on the same Surprise team that also has the top prospect in the game, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. Typically batting leadoff for the Surprise lineup, he’s now hit safely in 7 of 8 games he’s played in with Surprise, but Monday night was special.

In the first inning, Martinez got what is typically the toughest hit to pick up in a cycle, a triple, out of the way as he reached third on a 0-1 pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Cole Tucker. He followed that with a home run in the 3rd inning.

Martinez used his impressive speed to get his single in the 5th inning, beating out an infield single. He walked in the 7th inning but was forced out by Tucker at second base on a fielder’s choice.

Lane Thomas singled in the bottom of the 9th to ensure Martinez got one more shot at his magical day, and he obliged, scoring Thomas on a hard-hit ball to right field that he legged out for a double.

All told, Martinez was 4-4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI, also drawing a walk. That brought the Texas Rangers prospect’s AFL line to .344/.432/.563. The double was his 2nd of the AFL, and he’s also tallied 4 stolen bases in 5 tries.