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.
Saw Ethan Martin pitch 50 pitches against Piedmont College (GA) in an intrasquad practice game this spring. 16 strikes and 34 balls, though he was pitching in the mid nineties. Walked five batters in a row and hit two. All-in-all, not an impressive outing, but maybe it was after a long layoff.
Obviously, control might be a problem.
Thanks for the update, Larry! We’re always looking for new Ethan Martin news as he’s defintiely the #1 searched Dodger prospect on our site.