After tearing apart NPB minor league pitching, Cuban slugger Ariel Martínez has once again been promoted to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters’ top team. He is expected to join the team today in Yakult against the Swallows.
Martínez posted an impressive slash line of .419/.538/.758/1.296 with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs in 62 at-bats while playing for the club’s minor league affiliate. The two-time NPB All-Star has appeared in just 9 games and logged 18 at-bats with Nippon-Ham’s first team this season.
In the yesterday’s action with the Nippon-Ham Fighters minor league club the Cuban slugger swatted two homeruns and knocked in three runs on the day, while also scoring twice during his team’s 6-1 win over the Chunichi Dragons. For Martínez it was his fifth longball to go along with 14 runs batted in on the campaign. He also upped his average to a robust .419 this year in the minors.
Over his seven-year career in the Nippon League with Chunichi and Nippon-Ham he slashes .245/.334/.400/.734 with 41 homeruns and 175 runs batted in, this also includes a NPB All-Star Fighting Spirit Award in the 2024 NPB All-Star Game. Expect the native of Matanzas’ bat to add artillery to the lineup.