J.D. Martinez Makes His Major League Debut with Astros

August 1, 2011 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Greeneville Astros News Release


Former Greeneville Astros outfielder, J.D. Martinez, made his Major League debut with the Houston Astros in memorable fashion on Saturday with an eighth inning pinch-hit RBI double on a fly ball to deep center field against the Milwaukee Brewers. On Sunday, he lined up in left field to make his first big league start.

The 23-year-old Martinez, who holds a career .342 batting average, got called up from Double-A Corpus Christi to the Houston Astros on Friday night. At the time of his promotion, Martinez was hitting .338 with 25 doubles, 13 homers and 72 RBI on the season.

In 2010, Martinez was named the Astros Minor League Player of the Year after hitting a combined .341 with 40 doubles, 18 homeruns and 89 RBI between Double-A Corpus Christi and Low A Lexington. In addition, he also earned the South Atlantic League's MVP and Player of the Year Awards.

Martinez began his professional career with the Greeneville Astros in 2009. He was selected in the 20th round of the June 2009 draft from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, FL.

In 19 games with Greeneville, Martinez hit .403 with 9 doubles, 5 homers and 23 RBI. During that time, he tied a team record with a homerun in three consecutive games and had a team record 17-game hit streak going at the time of his promotion to Short Season-A Tri-City.

Martinez is now the twelfth Greeneville Astros player, and third position player, to play Major League Baseball. He joins starting pitcher Jordan Lyles and second baseman Jose Altuve as former Greeneville Astros currently on the Houston roster.



Appalachian League Stories from August 1, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central