Martes was a nice find by the meticulous Astros’ scouting department, as the third piece in a trade that also netted the Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick (OF, Marlins) and infielder Colin Moran (3B, Marlins), and sent right-hander Jarred Cosart (RHP, Padres) to Miami. Martes isn’t far from being the impact arm they envisioned when he was acquired in the 2014 trade-deadline deal.

In this look, Martes displayed a double-plus fastball with decent command and control, and that got some bore in on righties. His fastball elicits weak contact and misses bats, sitting 94-to-97 mph (T98). At times he’ll overthrow, pulling across his glove side too much, rendering his command inconsistent, and it was evident in this outing. His control has been trending the wrong way as he’s advanced, going from an above-average 2.5 BB/9 across three levels and 101 ⅔ IP in 2015 to a below-average 3.4 BB/9 over 125 ⅓ IP in 2016, but given how well his arm works and the improvement he showed in his BB/9 rate last season he should get to average despite his early 2017 struggles (7.8 BB/9 over his first 32 ⅓ innings).

Martes also has a sharp-breaking double-plus slider that sat 83-to-86 mph, and touched 87 mph at times when he used it for putaway. The pitch had depth and two-plane movement, and he was able to throw it early in the count for strikes as well. What stood out was how he used the slider for putaway to both lefties and righties alike — as it would start in the zone and fall off the table to righties and was back-foot weapon versus lefties.

His average changeup had arm-side fade at times, but lacked consistent movement and tended to stay on plane. He sat 89-to-91 mph with the pitch, and the good version resembled the action more similar two two-seam fastball movement. He masks some of the pitch’s shortcomings with very good arm action, adding significant deception. During this viewing he showed trust in the pitch and threw it often, but he’ll need to be more consistent with his ability to locate to the pitch to make it more effective.

Martes also features a curveball with 11-to-5 shape at 83-to-84 mph, but was used mostly as a get-me-over offering early in counts. He also does a nice job of maintaining his release point and arm slot, creating some deception. Even with it’s seldom usage, he showed some feel for the pitch.

Martes has the makings of a solid number three starter with two double-plus offerings, and an average third pitch, but he needs to improve his control of the curve and changeup of for the double-plus offerings to gain even more effectiveness. Being 21 years old and nearly six years younger than the average hitter at the Triple-A level, speaks volumes to how much the Astros like his stuff. On June 8, the Astros called up Martes from Triple-A Fresno and plan to use him out of the bullpen for the time being. He could be effective in a multi-inning relief role given his plus stuff and his arm being conditioned as a starter up to this point.