JUPITER, Fla. -- Saturday's most significant moment for the Cardinals front office may have taken place on a rear field while the intrasquad was going on inside the main stadium.
Righthanded pitcher Carlos Martinez, the most promising arm the club has signed since renewing its commitment to scouting and player development in the Caribbean, threw for the first time before general manager John Mozeliak and farm director John Vuch.
Martinez, 19, originally signed with the Boston Red Sox as Carlos Matias but had his contract voided when investigators discovered a discrepancy in his identity. Martinez's mother died when he was an infant. An uncle who raised him registered the player as his son rather than under his mother's last name, Martinez.
"We always felt there was never any intention to deceive with the paper work," said Cardinals director of international operations Moises Rodriguez.
The Cardinals used Martinez's second-chance eligibility to sign him for a reported $1.5 million. He is expected to open the season at Class A Quad Cities. Martinez does not turn 20 until September.
Saturday's audition was part of a mini-camp for many of the organization's top prospects not invited to the major-league side. Martinez is among a vanguard of young arms the club believes represents a transformational presence within a system rated thin on high-ceiling starting pitchers at Double-A and Triple-A. Martinez threw alongside supplemental round draft choice Seth Blair. Another supplemental pick, Tyrell Jenkins, is scheduled to throw Sunday.
Martinez's fastball 'sits" in the mid-90s, with the ability to touch 98-99 miles per hour. The teenager exhibited a loose but hurried arm action Saturday in a somewhat pressurized setting. At one point Cardinals bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist told Martinez to slow down. At another point Martinez interrupted his session to gulp water. "You could tell he was amped up," Vuch said. "But he was good."
Until Saturday, Mozeliak's exposure to Martinez had been limited to video. But even before Martinez took the mound, Mozeliak saw the new man in camp throwing in the outfield and uttered "wow."
"These kind of days are always great," Mozeliak said. "It's a little bit like the anticipation before Christmas."
