After five years of toiling around in minors Julio Pablo Martínez was called up to the majors. He will join the Texas Rangers team tonight and will be activated this Friday when the Rangers begin a new series in San Francisco. This season, the native of Guantanamo, Cuba was having an outstanding season at Triple-A slashing .312/.427/.561. He also connected on 36 extra-base hits (20 doubles, 4 triples and 12 home runs), knocked in 55 runs and stole 33 bases.
During his brief incursion in the Can-Am in 2016 with the Cuban national team and hit .231, that led to him being signed a year later by the Aigles of Trois-Rivieres. The outfielder signed with the Texas Rangers for 2.8 in 2018 after defecting from the Trois-Rivieres Aigles in 2017. The Cuban was ranked #2 that season amongst international prospects during that signing period.
Fuentes cercanas me comentan que el jardinero Julio Pablo Martínez fue llamado a Grandes Ligas por los Texas Rangers. El cubano promedia 311 con 12 jonrones, 56 RBI y 36 bases robadas en Triple A. pic.twitter.com/qypCuB0zuG
— Yordano Carmona (@YordiMLB) August 9, 2023
Martínez has plenty of pop from the left side, is an accomplished base stealer and can play all three outfield positions. Expect the speedster to hit leadoff for Texas, he also becomes the 27th Cuban to play in the majors this year and the 389th all-time. During his five seasons in the Serie Nacional with Guantánamo he slashed .293/.393/.430/.823, went yard 23 times and drove in 105 runs, while also stealing 45 bases.
He gained his first international experience in the 2015 Premier with Cuba and this helped him mature as a player. “I gained a lot of experience in that the Premier 12, especially facing professional pitching for the first time in my life. The tournament was a learning experience and has served as a lesson me to this day,” Martinez specified.
The stage is set for Martínez to exhibit his talent and make a spot for himself in the future plans of the ballclub from Arlington.