The San Jose Giants are getting close to a playoff push, and the timing looks pretty good for Keyner Martinez. The right-hander has been finishing the season on a much better run, while Diego Velasquez is making the most of his first taste of Triple-A.
Martinez’s year on the mound has had its ups and downs. At times, he has looked like one of the most overpowering pitching prospects in the Giants’ system. At other times, the strike zone has slipped away from him, and that has led to too many walks, long pitch counts, and early exits.
Lately, though, the version San Jose has been getting is the better one. Over his last three starts, Martinez has logged a 0.57 ERA with 20 strikeouts and three walks. For the season, 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 across 22 starts for San Jose.
That 12.9 K/9 mark is the highest among Giants minor league pitchers with at least 50 innings. It also helps explain why Martinez is regarded as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects.
Martinez’s rise has been steady. Last summer, he joined Argenis Cayama and Luis De La Torre as one of several prospects to emerge in the Arizona Complex League, and all three finished the season with San Jose.
From the right side, Martinez works with a low three-quarters arm slot. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and shows late carry up in the zone.
He pairs it with a low-80s sweeper and a harder changeup, with the sweeper often serving as his main secondary pitch. He is still relatively inexperienced on the mound, and the Giants are hoping his command sharpens as he gains more reps.
Velasquez, meanwhile, has wasted little time showing he belongs at a higher level. In August, he finally earned a promotion to Triple-A after three seasons with the Richmond Flying Squirrels and more than 1,000 plate appearances at Double-A.
For a young hitter who produced well in the Eastern League, the promotion had been a while coming. Now that he is with the Sacramento River Cats, he is backing it up.
Since moving up, the switch-hitting prospect is hitting .300/.400/.422 with a 123 wRC+, zero home runs, three RBI, and 15 runs in 107 plate appearances. He has also posted a 13.1 percent walk rate, a 19.6 percent strikeout rate, and a .122 ISO.
His recent stretch has been even stronger. Over the past week, Velasquez has turned in a .924 OPS in 27 plate appearances.
Velasquez remains more of a hit-over-power player, but his power output has ticked up in 2026. The source of that bump appears to be an improved attack angle, with more frequent pull-side lift. That probably won’t turn him into a double-digit home run hitter, but it should create plenty of extra-base damage.
He also brings a patient, grind-it-out approach at the plate, much like Nate Furman and Turner Hill. Velasquez is not trying to end the at-bat in a hurry. He tends to see plenty of pitches, put the ball in play, and lean on his contact skills.
Defensively, his path appears to be on the right side of the infield. Most of his pro innings have come at second base.
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