The Cleveland Guardians’ farm system is the gift that keeps on giving.
They continue to find and develop gems, especially when it comes to pitchers.
That may have been the case again with Xavier Martinez.
As pointed out by Guardians Prospective on X, the 22-year-old RHP has been lights out since they got him as an undrafted free agent last year.
Martinez picked up another save for High-A Lake County in his last outing.
Martinez has been a terrific find by the #Guardians as he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2024. https://t.co/FRVqOfuaWL
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) August 21, 2025
He threw a scoreless ninth inning vs. Fort Wayne on Wednesday, leaving the game with one strikeout, one walk, and no hits allowed.
He tossed 16 pitches, eight of which were strikes.
More importantly, Martinez has yet to allow a single run over five appearances since he was promoted to High-A Lake County.
So far, he’s given up just four hits and four walks while striking out 12 hitters over 8.1 innings of work.
The Guardians just lost Emmanuel Clase due to a sports gambling investigation.
There’s no word on a potential timeline for his return, and there’s a chance he won’t get cleared to return at all, at least not for the foreseeable future.
The team seems to be all set with Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis for the time being, and there’s a legitimate chance that Smith emerges as a superstar closer.
Then again, it never hurts to have options.
Martinez still has a long way to go to get to the majors, but he should be a name to keep an eye on next season.
NEXT: Guardians Named Favorites To Sign Intriguing Pitching Prospect
