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Well, it’s official. The Dodgers signed rookie RHP Ethan Martin today.

His contract included a $1.73-million signing bonus and looked quite strong in batting practice today, delivering four homers during his time at the plate. Torre was so impressed, he asked Martin, “Are you sure you want to pitch?” Martin’s response, “Yes sir, I guess so.”

Ah highschoolers, they always deliver the eloquent sound bytes, don’t they?

Martin will be headed to Vero Beach at the end of the week, where the will spend time with the team’s rookie ball affiliate. Expect to see Ethan pitch roughly 35-40 innings between now and September according to published reports.

Martin most recently played for Stephens County High School in Georgia before being taken by the Dodgers in the first round of the MLB draft.

So like many of you, I’m trying to find more information on the Dodgers 19 year-old first round draft pick, pitcher Ethan Martin.  I did uncover one piece of trivia that did disturb me: the Dodgers have not won a playoff series in Martin’s lifetime!  Yup, he was born eight months afterthe team’s last post-season series win.  How sad is that?  (A tip o’ the cap to Mark Whicker at the OC Register for that factoid…check out his June 5 article to learn more about Martin).

Given the state of our state of our starting pitching, is it too soon to think about calling him up?  Hell, the Dodgers should have had a plane on standby waiting to take him straight to the ballpark after he was selected!

The Dodgers drafted a pitcher from Georgia with their first selection in the MLB draft, securing right-hander Ethan Martin from Stephens County High in Toccoa, Ga.

Martin was also the quarterback for the Stephens County football team and appeared to be on his way to Clemson via a scholarship until the Dodgers drafted him. Martin called the Tigers’ coaching staff and informed them of his decision to sign with the Dodgers.

During his final year, Martin earned Georgia High School Player of the Year honors and had a record of 11-1 with a 0.99 ERA as a senior.

Martin, who is represented by Al Goetz, said yesterday “Nothing is official yet, but I really do think we can get this worked out with the Dodgers.”

Martin, 19, is perhaps best known for his part leading up to a YouTube video from the Georgia AAA state championship game against Cartersville. During the previous inning, Martin was called out on strikes and appeared to be noticeably upset, even throwing his helmet after the at-bat. His younger brother Cody grabbed the mound following the incided and threw a high pitch that the catcher ducked under, causing the throw to strike the umpire in the face mask. The video is embedded below for your viewing enjoyment. Stephens County was fined $1,000 by the state high school athletics governing board.