Each year it seems that a pitcher in our farm system unexpectedly claims the spotlight. That is, a young pitcher who was not an early round draft pick comes to the head of the class. Nathan Eovaldi was an eleventh round pick, Allen Webster an eighteenth round pick and Angel Sanchez came to us as a non drafted free agent. This year’s surprise, thus far, has been Jarret Martin, pitching for the Great Lakes Loons.

Jarret Martin will start for the Great Lakes Loons in their season-opener Friday at Lansing. (Photo by Joseph Tobianski - The Saginaw News)

Dodger fans may recall that Jarret was acquired in a trade with the Orioles in December, in which we sent Dana Eveland to Baltimore. We also received Tyler Henson in that trade. Jarret, 22, is a big left hander from Bakersfield, California. He was drafted in 2008 by the Orioles in the nineteenth round of the MLB amateur draft and again in 2009 in the eighteenth round. Signed as a pitcher, the lefty was a prolific hitter who set the all-time central section home run record for the Centennial High Golden Hawks last year and tied the Bakersfield College Renegades home run record this year. Jarret didn’t pitch in his only junior college year so he, like Ethan Martin, is relatively new to mound duties.

At the time of the trade several blogs made mention of the trade, suggesting getting two young players for Dana Eveland was a good move. One blog posted: “I don’t expect Martin to ever amount to anything but it hardly matters. A fringy prospect …” However, John Sickles issued a SLEEPER ALERT on Jarret. He spoke of his sinking fastball and promising curveball. John liked the combination of strikeouts and ground balls.

Jarret has been a very pleasant surprise with the Loons, although not a surprise to Dodger scouts. In his most recent start he pitched seven innings of scoreless ball, struck out five and walked one. He induced eleven ground balls outs coupled with only two fly ball outs. He leads the league in strikeouts with thirty- seven in thirty-four innings and has walked only ten batters. Needless to say, he is being noticed.

One wonders why the Orioles jettisoned him so early in his career. Jarret was not particularly effective in his first two years of minor league ball. Control was a major problem in his year in A ball with Delmarva. He walked 65, threw twelve wild pitches and hit thirteen batters, accomplishing that in only 110 innings. He was deemed expendable by the Orioles.

We also wonder what the Dodgers saw in Jarret. It appears we saw the same qualities that John Sickles did. First, he fits the Dodger mold in drafting pitchers. That is, a power arm coupled with athleticism. Being a lefty didn’t hurt. Secondly, Jarret has a fastball that now ranges into the mid nineties, along with two, at least average, secondary pitches, a curveball and change up. What is there not to love about his ability to induce ground balls with the sink and run on his fastball. “We traded for him because he has a power arm,” Great Lakes pitching coach Hector Berrios said. “But he had trouble throwing strikes, staying consistent in the zone. Whenever you have a chance to get an arm like his, you do it.”

Additionally, we wonder what happened over the winter to transform Jarret from expendable to a promising prospect. The Dodgers immediately invited him to their Young Guns Camp with their other top pitching prospects. All it took was tweaking his delivery. Commenting on his early Dodger experience, Jarret explained the change: “I’ve gotten more coaching, more help with my mechanics so far here than I did in two years with the Orioles. It was hard, but finally everything clicked.”

“In the spring, he pounded the strike zone,” Berrios said. “His mechanics were great, his delivery was repeatable. If he had control problems in the past, you wouldn’t have known it by how he threw in the spring.”

Jarret says a dream came true when he learned he was traded to the Dodgers. “I grew up in Bakersfield (Calif.) and was a Los Angeles Dodgers fan forever. I can’t tell you how excited I was.” The Dodgers are excited too.