His struggles probably aren't too big a deal regarding his future performance/prospect status, but he's in AAA and Astros are in 1st place. Paulino, McHugh, and Rodgers are down. Instead of having top pitching prospect ready to go at a moment's notice (or up to 5 days notice depending on where at in AAA rotation), MLB team has to make decisions like they aren't getting pitching help from minors any time soon.
Martes has less question marks than VV or LMJ had when they were at the same point Martes is at. VV had serious health concerns and there were issues about LMJ's health and ability to pitch deep into a game. Martes is probably the more appealing prospect. Having said that..... the issues with the consistency in his delivery are getting old. Yes, he is a good athlete but he is getting to the point where he needs to have better mechanics.
Franklin Perez was recently placed on the 7-day DL in Buies Creek. Albert Abreu, who went to the Yankees in the Brian McCann deal, also landed on the DL.
Because you tired of waiting on him to be ready for the MLB? Your expectations are insane. Martes is 21 years old in AAA.
Sounds like inconsistent mechanics are the basis of Martes' early struggles at every level. It's not so much a "hurry up" as a "stop making the same mistakes". Which admittedly is a red flag of a different sort. A guy who can't keep his mechanics in line will never be an ace. At best it'd be that upside #3 starter who throws a shut-out and then walks 7 guys the next start.
Because he has had issues with repeating his delivery three times in the last 14 months that have resulted in serious control and command issues? Because he isn't comfortable pitching out of the stretch and will likely have more men on base in the big leagues than in the minors? Because any issues with repeating his delivery will only be more pronounced at the big league level when hitters will be able to study his inconsistencies? Because the Astros worked long and hard to shorten his delivery a year ago, and he did very well; but has decided to make his delivery more complicated than it was the second half of last year? I am sure the Astros are working with him on his delivery and landing being consistent and we will start to see improvement but if there is a red flag it is his delivery and his insistence on pitching out of the windup even with runners on base.
Per MiLB.com's transactions, Tyler Britton and Derick Velazquez have retired. Britton, 23, was the Astros' 23rd-round pick last year out of High Point. He got a start on April 9 and then went on the DL. Britton struck out 63 in 41 innings across three levels last summer. Velazquez, also 23, was drafted in the 7th round in 2014 out of Fresno State. He was pitching for the first time since his draft year; he had missed the last two years due to Tommy John surgery and a couple more procedures. He last appeared on April 23.
That's odd. Might sound strange but I actually hope both guys suffered unmentioned serious arm injuries that made this decision for them. Both guys didn't appear to be far behind the development curve, 23 in A ball isn't the end of the world, and Britton was just drafted in 2016.
Brett Adcock just got moved up to Buies Creek. Patrick Obley is a sportswriter for the Fayetteville Observer.
