Junior Martina

Francinel Francisco Martina

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.

• School Western Oklahoma State College

• Born December 12, 1997 in Willemstad Curaçao

BR register page

Biographical Information

Junior Martina has played in the minors and for the Dutch national team.

In 2018, he hit .397/.516/.701 with 72 runs, 54 RBI, 39 walks and 12 homers in 52 games in junior college. Western Oklahoma State had a long tradition of players from the Dutch Antilles, as he followed Andrelton Simmons, Sicnarf Loopstok, Randolph Oduber and Kevin Kellij among others. He made his Hoofdklasse debut in 2018 but hit only .204/.290/.296 for DSS in his debut in the top Dutch circuit. He was the Dutch shortstop in the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup, hitting .367/.417/.467 with 7 runs and 7 RBI in 8 games, but fielding .793 with 6 errors. He was second on the team in RBI (behind Sherten Apostel) and tied Aldrich De Jongh for their most runs. He did lead the event in errors.

He batted .399/.475/.673 with 70 runs, 51 RBI and 14 homers in 55 games the next year in college. He was picked by the Washington Nationals in the 16th round of the 2019 amateur draft; the scout was Jerad Head. He had a solid pro debut with the GCL Nationals (.338/.461/.515, 33 R in 39 G) and Auburn Doubledays (3 for 17, BB, 3 R, 3 RBI). He was second in the Gulf Coast League in average (behind Viandel Pena), tied Kerry Carpenter for 5th in runs, tied for 10th in triples (3), was second in OBP (.006 behind Leandro Emiliani), 3rd in slugging (after Carpenter and Orelvis Martinez) and 2nd in OPS (57 behind Carpenter). He was named the All-Star second baseman for the GCL.

When the 2020 minor league season was wiped out by COVID-19, he was back in the Netherlands, producing at a .315/.422/.500 clip for the Oosterhout Twins for a big improvement from two years prior. He tied for third in the league in times plunked (4). Returning to the US in 2021, he fielded .941 at third base between the Fredericksburg Nationals (.269/.321/.342 in 80 G) and Wilmington Blue Rocks (.231/.250/.308 in 7 G), his offensive numbers obviously down from his first minor league campaign.

He debuted for the Dutch senior national team in the 2021 European Championship, starting at third base for them. He grounded out his first at-bat, versus Slovakia's Marko Vykoukal but later singled off Jaroslav Kosna to score Sharlon Schoop and Dwayne Kemp then added a two-run double off Kosna later. He had 3 runs in a win over the Czech national team. In the Gold Medal Game, he was 1 for 5 from the 8 slot in a victory over the Israeli national team. For the Euros, his batting line was .333/.462/.381 with 6 runs, 5 walks and 5 RBI in 6 games, solid numbers compared to his teammates on the champions if by no means the team leader at the plate. Unlike his prior appearance for the Netherlands, his defense was sharp, with 12 error-free chances at the hot corner. He remained with the Netherlands for the 2021 U-23 Baseball World Cup, hitting .217/.296/.391 with six RBI in eight games and fielding .891 at third.