There was a ton of excitement from Cleveland Guardians fans heading into this season due to the potential emergence of Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana. Those two have both debuted and lived up to all the hype thus far, but they’re far from the only young talents making noise in Cleveland at the moment.
Angel Martinez’s improvement has been remarkable. His OPS is up over 100 points since last year and his defense has taken a big leap forward as well, and that improvement was on full display during Friday’s series-opening 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.
MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins shared a clip of Martinez’s incredible throw in the second inning of Friday’s game where he cut Mickey Gasper down at home plate. Stebbins pointed out that the strike he fired on a line to home plate registered at 96.8 miles per hour and noted that he has now surpassed his outfield assist total from all of last season.
“Angel Martínez picks up his fifth outfield assist this season with a 96.8 mph strike to cut down Mickey Gasper at home plate. Martínez had four OF assists in 2025,” Stebbins said on X.
Angel Martínez picks up his fifth outfield assist this season with a 96.8 mph strike to cut down Mickey Gasper at home plate.
Martínez had four OF assists in 2025. pic.twitter.com/DLPhcUmatV
— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) May 29, 2026
The Red Sox have been having runners cut down at home all over the place over the last week or two, but this one couldn’t really be blamed on the third base coach. Only a perfect throw could have gotten Gasper at home, and Martinez unleashed an absolute rope to keep Boston off the board.
The play eventually wound up being the difference in the score, as Cleveland won by just one run. Martinez also contributed with an RBI single in the first inning, which was much-needed considering his bat has cooled off quite a bit over the past couple of weeks.
The pressure was on Martinez this season given how deep Cleveland’s outfield is. Chase DeLauter has established himself as a young star and fellow prospects George Valera and CJ Kayfus were breathing down his neck, but Martinez has stepped up and made it impossible for manager Stephen Vogt to take him out of the lineup.
NEXT: Guardians New Outfielder Has Decided On His Jersey Number
