FULLERTON, Calif. — Jeremy Martinez says he was fortunate to be one of only two juniors to travel to Colombia as a member of USA Baseball’s Under 18 National Team last summer. The experience opened his eyes to the caliber of players that are competing in the United States and across the globe.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound catcher from Mater Dei HS in Santa Ana, Calif. has a short, quick swing and is patient at the plate, displaying his selective strike zone and disciplined approach.
Martinez is a strong defensive catcher that has a lot of experience catching top-notch pitching. He has committed to USC, but was ranked as the top 2013 player in ESPN’s Top 60, grading out with a 94 of 100.
On Tuesday, after Team USA dropped a game, 5-4, to the Southern California NTIS 17U squad, I talked with Martinez about playing with USA Baseball.
He discussed how the team aspect of playing for the United States sets playing for Team USA apart from other summer baseball, but how there is some nervousness due to the potential of being cut before the official 20-man roster is finalized. Martinez also talked about the level of competition the team gets to see when playing overseas:
