Rising SF Giants pitching prospect takes home ACL Pitcher of the Month honors for July

The Arizona Complex League (ACL) season is over, but the recognition continues. Rising SF Giants pitching prospect Keyner Martinez took home ACL Pitcher of the Month honors for July, per a team announcement.

Rising SF Giants pitching prospect takes home ACL Pitcher of the Month honors for July

This completes the sweep on the pitching side for the ACL Giants. Argenis Cayama took home the honors for May, followed by Ricardo Estrada in June. All three pitchers are now throwing for a talented San Jose Giants roster.

The ACL Giants dominated on both sides of the ball. They led the league with a 42-18 record. The offense led the way with an .801 team OPS while averaging 6.27 runs per game. The pitching staff was comfortably the best unit in the league with a 3.48 ERA.

Unfortunately, the ACL Angels swept the ACL Giants in the finals. It marked the end of one season. For many prospects, including Keyner Martinez, it marked the beginning of another season.

Martinez, along with Argenis Cayama, anchored the rotation and were among the best pitchers in that league. Overall, Martinez posted a 1.90 ERA, 2.70 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, 12.7 K/9, and a 6.70 SO/W rate across 47.1 innings.

The right-hander's 1.90 ERA was the third-best mark among pitchers with at least 40 innings. He also led the league with 67 strikeouts.

Martinez was only getting better as the season progressed. He posted a 0.61 ERA across 14.2 innings in July. This included an 11-strikeout effort against the ACL Padres. Martinez has risen rapidly up the Giants' prospect rankings, landing at No. 9 according to MLB Pipeline. He is one spot behind fellow teammate Argenis Cayama.

The 20-year-old pitcher throws from a three-quarter's arm slot. He throws a mid-90's four-seam fastball that can reach as high as 98 MPH. He mixes in a low-80's slider and a changeup that sits in the upper 80's. The slider gets two-plane movement, and it is a plus offering against hitters in the lower minors. Martinez will want it to have a tigher movement profile as he moves up the system.

Martinez's changeup is a bit too firm and does not get the same fading action that you normally see with quality changeups. He might want to take some velocity off that pitch to create more velocity separation between his fastball and changeup. The hard part is doing that while maintaining the same arm speed.

For now, this has been a promising year for Martinez. There are still a few weeks remaining in San Jose's schedule, but he also finishes the year with some well-deserved recognition from the ACL.

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