SF Giants minor league notes: Keyner Martinez strong finish, Diego Velasquez hot streak

The San Jose Giants are preparing for a playoff push. The timing might be just right for SF Giants prospect Keyner Martinez, who is closing the year on a positive note.

SF Giants minor league notes: Keyner Martinez strong finish, Diego Velasquez hot streak

1. Kenyer Martinez's strong finish

It has been a mixed bag for Martinez on the mound in 2026. At times, he looks about as dominant as any Giants pitching prospect in the organization. At other times, he has struggled to find the strike zone, leading to a lot of walks, high pitch counts, and short outings.

Fortunately, for San Jose, it has been more of the former lately for Martinez. In his last three starts, he has posted a 0.57 ERA with 20 strikeouts and three walks. Overall, the right-handed pitcher has a 4.61 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 1.28 WHIP, 12.9 K/9, and a 2.85 SO/W rate in 22 starts for San Jose.

Martinez's 12.9 K/9 rate is the highest among Giants minor league pitchers with at least 50 innings thrown. That is one of the reasons why he is viewed as one of the top pitching prospects in the organization.

Last summer, Martinez, along with Argenis Cayama and Luis De La Torre, were among several prospects to pop up in the Arizona Complex League. All three finished the season with San Jose.

On the mound, Martinez throws from a low, three-quarters arm slot from the right side. He flashes a a mid 90's fastball that has some late carry to it up in the zone. He mixes it with a low 80's sweeper and a harder changeup, with the former often used as his go-to secondary. Martinez is still green with experience on the mound, and the Giants hope that his control can improve with more time.

2. Diego Velasquez excelling at new level

In August, Diego Velasquez earned a long-overdue, much-deserved promotion to Triple-A. He spent three seasons with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, accumulating over 1,000 plate appearances at Double-A.

Despite putting up quality numbers as a young hitter in a tough hitter's league like the Eastern League, it felt like Velasquez had been overlooked for a promotion in the past.

Now, he is with the Sacramento River Cats and taking advantage of the opportunity. Since moving up to Triple-A, the switch-hitting prospect is slashing .300/.400/.422 (123 wRC+) with zero home runs, three RBI, and 15 runs in 107 plate appearances. This includes a 13.1 percent walk rate, 19.6 percent strikeout rate, and a .122 ISO.

Over the past week, Velasquez has been even better. He has put up a .924 OPS in 27 plate appearances.

The 22-year-old prospect is very much a hit-over-power offensive profile. That said, the power has played up a little more in 2026. This is likely due to an improve attack angle, as he is pulling the ball in the air more often. That will likely not translate to double-digit home run totals, but it should lead to plenty of extra-base hits.

Similar to Nate Furman and Turner Hill, Velasquez is a grinder in the batter's box. He is in no rush to get the at-bat over with. Velasuqez will often see a lot of pitches and put the ball in play. He has strong contact skills.

In the field, Velasquez is likely limited to the right side of the infield. He has spent the bulk of his time as a pro at second base.

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