The Confusing Off Season of Cody Martin

Cody Martin earning a save with Gonzaga

Starter or a Reliever?  Yes.

Martin attended Gonzaga and in his first two years as a Bullfrog Martin pitched successfully both as a starter and from the bullpen.  As a Junior he became a full time starter with less promising results. Those numbers probably resulted in him falling to the 20th round of the draft where he was selected by the Twins but chose to return to school and complete his degree.

That summer he pitched as a reliever for the SB Foresters of the California Collegiate league and once again enjoyed success albeit in a small sample size.

Statistics courtesy the Baseball Cube

In 2011 the Braves selected Martin in the seventh round behind Sean Gilmartin, Nick Ahmed, Graham, Nick DeSantiago and Mark Lamm. He pitched well as a reliever at Danville and Rome that season and Baseball America made him the Braves #19 prospect entering 2012. According to BA (subscription required), “The Braves were intrigued with his command of four pitches and decided to look at him as a starter. . .”

Because he had been a reliever the Braves imposed an innings limit on Martin and shut him down after 107 1/3 IP. He was very successful in that time notching 12 wins and 123 strikeouts with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.18e WHIP.  That earned him a move up the BA rankings to #13 and a move to Pearl for 2013.