When Cody Martin found out he’d be pitching Sunday in place of injured Braves starter Mike Minor, he saw it as an opportunity to do what he’s comfortable doing.
And he took advantage, pitching two scoreless innings against a split-squad Astros lineup Sunday, combining with eight relievers for a 10-inning no-hitter in a 2-all tie. Martin had two walks and three strikeouts, and the right-hander pushed his name into the discussion for jobs in the Braves starting rotation.
“Why not? He’s deserving, he’s earned that opportunity,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “It’s wide open. We went from having a fifth spot open to having two spots open. Why not put him in the mix there?
There were four pitchers – veteran lefties Wandy Rodrigez and Eric Stults, prospects Mike Foltynewicz and Manny Banuelos — competing for the fifth-starter job when spring training began. But with Minor sidelined indefinitely by a shoulder injury, the Braves might have to choose another pitcher to fill in for at least the first part of the season.
Minor will have his shoulder examined early this week by Dr. James Andrews.
“I think it was Thursday when (pitching coach Roger McDowell) told me Minor’s shoulder was sore and he was going to get it checked out and I was going to start,” Martin said. “I was really excited. Once he told me I kind of changed my mindset, changed my focus to, you know what, I’ve got a good chance of sticking around if things go well.”
Martin, 25, pitched well while being used primarily as a starter in the minors. At Triple-A Gwinnett in 2014, he had a 3.52 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 156 innings over 27 games (26 starts), and the year before that he posted a 3.16 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 136 2/3 innings in Double-A and Triple-A.
But the right-hander was used in a relief role in spring training last year, and struggled. Martin figured he would probably pitch only in relief again this spring with so many starters in camp.
“When Roger told me I was just happy to be able to go through my routine and not have to come out of the bullpen in the sixth, seventh, eighth inning, sit around all day,” he said.
Martin said Sunday was the best day in what had been an interesting five-month period for him, beginning with being left unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings. Many experts predicted he would be poached by another team, but he wasn’t and remained a Brave.
“It was a stressful offseason,” he said. “Not getting protected from the Rule 5 after having a few pretty solid seasons. There was a lot of talk that I’d probably get picked in it. Then the Rule 5 coming around and not getting picked … It was a rollercoaster of emotions, for sure. But I’m happy to be here. I’ve had my last four or five years here. I really want to make an impact with this team and see where I can go with it.”
Gonzalez said there would be only way to find out.
“We talk about him all the time among our coaches,” Gonzalez said. “He’s a guy who wins in Triple-A, he’s been down there a couple of years. He’s got great command. He throws secondary pitches for strikes. He doesn’t light up the radar gun, but he’s a guy that, (minor league pitching coordinator Rich) Dubee says it best — the only way we know if he can pitch in the big leagues is pitching in the big leagues.”
Martin said he learned from trying to impress at last year’s spring training, his first in major league camp.
“Last year was an eye-opener, having big league camp and not knowing what to expect,” he said. “And then this year coming back, you have a good idea who’s here; well, maybe not this year, there’s a lot of new faces. But you’re just comfortable. You’re a lot more comfortable with the coaches, and seeing the big league hitters. It’s just baseball, and you’ve got to tell yourself that every day.
“My big thing was just to throw strikes, try and get my fastball going. Last year in camp my command was terrible. I was walking guys, I was up in the zone, I was getting hit around. I’m like, man, what am I doing? I look back at it, I was just overthrowing. I was coming out of the ‘pen thinking, I’m going to try to throw 96. Well, I don’t throw 96. I’m not going to light up the radar gun. But I am going to hit my spots and throw four pitches for strikes, and when you do that good things can happen.”
