Game Report, Kelvin Marte

Game Report: Kelvin Marte, SP, San Francisco Giants

Kelvin Marte - (3 1/3 IP, O ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K) - Listed as a 6'0" righty on many sites, I was a bit surprised to see a small, lefty take the mound for the GreenJackets. Information on Marte is hard to find, but his 2.53 ERA over two levels in 2008 including a 41/14 K/BB ratio was deserving of a closer look. Currently 21 1/2, Marte has been on the minor league disabled list for three weeks. At the time of his injury, Marte had a 3.00 ERA in five starts with a 11/8 K/BB ratio in 21 innings. Those numbers don't tell the whole story, however, as Marte held opponents scoreless in four of his five outings.

• Well under 6'; Likely in the 5'9" range
• Medium build; Very little in the way of physical projection
• 88-90 in the first inning; Worked fastball in and out with some effectiveness
• Climbed the ladder with a 3 pitch strikeout; Fastballs registered 87-88-89 consecutively
• From third inning on, fastball dropped to 85-87 MPH
  
• Threw curve/slurve at 76 MPH
• Hung a number of breaking balls to start the game
• Changeup 80-82 MPH; Late drop and fade; Kept the ball low and outside well; Out pitch?
• Threw too many pitches; Struggled with efficiency throughout

Overall, Marte threw well, but tired quickly. I can see a scenario where he becomes the prototypical LOOGY out of a big league bullpen scrapping his rudimentary breaking ball and relying heavily on a two pitch mix featuring a potential plus changeup and average fastball.