There is a quote written on the wall in the Dodgers clubhouse at their Camelback Ranch spring training facility by Dodger legend and Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese. It reads:

“If you rush in and out of the clubhouse, you rush in and out of baseball.”

Perhaps it is only a coincidence that this great quote by this great player and great human being is directly above the locker of 24-year-old hard-throwing left-hander Jarret Martin, but if you know Jarret Martin even slightly, it is probably not.

Whether or not Reese’s quote has anything to do with the fact that Martin is usually the first guy to arrive at the Dodgers clubhouse each morning and among that last to leave every afternoon is something that only he knows for sure, but he is one of very few guys who seems to be taking Reese’s words to heart.

“It’s been a pretty exhilarating experience,” said the Bakersfield native of his first major league spring training camp. “Being around all of these major league players is an honor and I’m just glad to be here and learn from these guys.”

Hard work and going the extra mile has become the theme for Martin. After receiving the phone call from Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti on November 20, 2013 informing him that he had been added to the Dodgers 40-man roster to avoid being snatched away in the Rule 5 Draft, baseball life has become non-stop for Martin. He was invited to the annual week-long Winter Development mini-camp at Dodger Stadium the first week of January and then went straight over to Camelback Ranch for his second Young Guns mini-camp to prepare him for spring training. He also participated in the Dodgers annual Community Caravan and was on hand at the FanFest event held at Dodger Stadium on February 11.

Martin said that he was absolutely amazed at the number of fans who showed up for FanFest at Dodger Stadium on February 11. He is seen here with Dodger legend Maury Wills. (Photo credit – Juan Ocampo)

An important part of being in a new and potentially life-changing environment like big league spring training camp is being accepted by the veteran players and often times it takes being the brunt of some good-natured ribbing to get there – something that Martin fell victim to on his very first day in camp.

“I got my feet wet real fast,” said Martin with a chuckle. “A couple of days ago I asked (Dodgers Director of Team Travel) Scott Akasaki for my meal money and he said ‘I don’t have any money.’ On the minor league side you have to kind of go hustle and try to find where you’re supposed to go. So in our team meeting (Scott) made it known that I was a rookie and let me hear it in front of the whole crowd and that broke the ice real fast. It was all in good manner too.”

Martin received some good-natured rookie ribbing during a team meeting on the first day of spring training. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Martin had his first bullpen session of spring training on Monday and said that he felt good but says he can do better.

“Everything felt good,” said Martin. “You get back to Arizona and everything starts to speed up a little bit. You start to fine tune your pitches and dial it in. The first one is out of the way, it’s never your best – for me, at least, it wasn’t my best, and I’m just looking to build off that and get back to going every day.”

Martin said that he threw 27 or 28 pitches in his first bullpen session utilizing his entire repertoire.

“I mixed it up starting from the stretch first and worked on fastballs,” said Martin. “For me I’m a fastball pitcher so I like to do more fastballs and then I worked on a few change-ups just to mix them in, have that pitch still there even though I’m a reliever now and probably won’t come out a whole lot, and then I worked on my slider.”

Although Martin spent the majority of his four minor league seasons as a starting pitcher, he was converted to a reliever during the 2013 season – a role in which he did exceptionally well for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.

“Being a lefty I’m assuming that I’m going to be facing a lot more left-handed hitters in the relief role so (a slider) is a pitch that I have to have and it’s going to be something that I’m going to rely on late in the game.”

Martin’s transition from a starter to a reliever has gone exceptionally well.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Even though Martin’s role has changed from being a starter to a reliever, he hasn’t changed his preparation or his workouts.

“My preparation isn’t different. I’ve always worked as if this season was my season to be called up,” explains Martin. “I’ve never looked at it as if ‘Okay, I’m going to be in Low-A or I’m going to be in High-A this year so I’m going to work less, and then for the big league I’m going to work harder.’ I’ve always had the same work ethic. Once I got the phone call my training was already underway and I continued to push through the off-season, and coming into camp I feel like I’m in great shape, as great of shape as I’ve ever been. I worked hard this year, cut back on my golf and put a little more focus on my diet and everything else,” added Martin.

Martin also said that even after being converted to a reliever there is still the possibility that he could return to the starter role if that ever became necessary.

“(The Dodgers coaching staff) told me that it’s never out of the question but right now I’m going to start out of the bullpen,” said Martin. “We’ve got a starting rotation here in this organization that’s going to be tough to crack, so I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get to the major leagues and help this team win a championship. If that’s going to be in the bullpen then that’s what I’m ready for but I’m not going to say I’m never going to start again.”

Former Dodgers scout and current Dodgers bullpen coach Chuck Crim is very familiar with Jarret Martin and likes what he sees in him.

“I’ve know Jarret for a long time,” said Crim. “When I scouted, I scouted Jarret in high school and I scouted him when he was going to Bakersfield Community College. He’s always had a tremendous arm and a good pitcher’s body, and he’s always had everything going for him being left-handed, but he’s had command issues and had trouble taming that live arm he’s got.

“It was kind of funny, when we traded for him (from the Orioles for Dana Eveland in December 2011) I knew exactly who he was and exactly who we were going to get,” added Crim. “I talked to Jarret about what went on and it seemed like he needed more help than he was receiving (from the Orioles organization) and the guys down there (in the Dodgers minor league system) like pitching coordinator Rafael Chaves and Assistant Pitching coordinator Richard Knapp have done a tremendous job with him.”

Crim pointed out that a common problem in today’s minor league systems is that too many guys try to get involved in a young players development and it ends up hurting them more than helping them.

“We try not to let too many hands get on a guy and make him too dizzy,” said Crim. “I approached him with the mental side of it and heck, the last few times out he’s thrown the ball very well. It just takes a little bit more culturing to reach the next level.”

Interestingly enough, Crim compares Martin with another hard-throwing Dodger left-hander.

“I kind of compare Jarret to Rex Brothers with Colorado and Scott Elbert who had command issues before he made it to the big leagues,” said Crim. “Hopefully we can grab these kids and do a real good job with them but then again the kid has to be responsible also. (Jarret) is all ears, he’s all-in and he’s done a great job as far as trying to get himself major league-ready.”

With the Dodgers starting rotation basically set (barring injuries) and with seven relievers already penciled into bullpen spots, Martin definitely has his work cut out for him this spring and is a long shot to make the Dodgers opening day roster. But in the words of Ned Colletti at a press conference last month regarding Martin and fellow pitching prospects Yimi Garcia and Pedro Baez:

“Are they going to make the team out of spring training? Probably a long shot. But are they going to be here before the end of the season? I think they all have a chance to do that.”

See you at Dodger Stadium, Jarret.