Our top 10 is a bit different from last year’s … only half of the names were also in the top 10 a year ago. Three of the names are entirely new to the system, while one rose up from his placement on last year’s CPL, and one entered the top 10 after not being in the top 44 at all last year.
It’s that person that we’re here to talk about, as right-handed pitcher Keyner Martinez has been voted as the No. 10 prospect in the system, after missing out on the list entirely a year ago. That suggests that Martinez had a strong season, and … well … yeah. That’s exactly what happened. Martinez was a slightly older international signee from Venezuela, as he signed in 2023 but didn’t debut until 2024, his age-19 season. He skipped the DSL and made his debut in the Arizona Complex League, where his results were very mediocre.
But he transformed over the offseason, and took the ACL by storm in 2025, posting a 1.90 ERA and a 2.70 FIP, with a staggering 67 strikeouts against just 10 walks in 47.1 innings. At the end of the ACL season he joined Low-A San Jose’s roster, where he continued to shine, posting a 2.86 ERA and a 3.96 FIP, while striking out 30 batters in 22 innings, with 11 walks.
Just as, if not more importantly, is the way it looked. Martinez earned hype from any and all prospect hounds covering the ACL and Cal League, and even rose up to the No. 6 spot in the recently-released Giants prospect rankings at Baseball America. Martinez turned 21 at the end of the season, and it will be interesting to see if he’s back in San Jose to start 2026 or if he gets bumped up to High-A Eugene. Either way, he’s firmly entrenched himself as one of the top pitching prospects in the system.
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