Grand Street Campus traded in one pro prospect for a high Division I standout.
When center fielder and cleanup hitter Williams Jerez graduated last spring, it left a mammoth hole in the middle of the Wolves lineup. Before coach Melvin Martinez had to devise ways to fill the spot, a replacement landed on his doorstep in Maryland-bound catcher Kevin Martir.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Martinez said when he was told the news. “I had to make a few phone calls to verify that.”
The standout senior was expelled from Xaverian in the fall and the first place he thought of going was to Grand Street, where he could team with good friend and fellow Maryland commit Jose Cuas. He’s seamlessly fit in with his new teammates, supplying the power the team lost in Jerez, who is currently in the Boston Red Sox minor league system after the organization took him with the 81st overall pick in the MLB First-Year Player Draft last June.
“We haven’t skipped a beat offensively,” Martinez said.
This past week has been the best example. Martir has led the Wolves to the Monroe Tournament semifinals. In a 14-2 rout of Curtis in pool play, he had four hits and seven RBIs, showing off his speed with two triples. His biggest moment in Grand Street baby blue came on Wednesday when he kick-started the team’s nine-run, ninth-inning with a run-scoring double down the left line in a 10-2 win over Bronx powerhouse Monroe.
“It was unfortunate what happened to him at Xaverian, but we’ll take it,” Martinez said. “Hopefully he will continue to pay huge dividends.”
After Thursday’s matchup, Monroe coach Mike Turo said he thinks Grand Street is better than it was last year when it reached the PSAL Class A semifinals, and he pointed to Martir as one of the reasons.
“A kid like that who can hit, hit for power, has a big arm and has been to a championship before with Xaverian, that helps a ball club,” Turo said. “You look at the lineup and see him coming up, he’s a tough out. You have to pitch around him. He hits the ball to the opposite field real well.”
Martir said he hasn’t found much of a difference between the two leagues, other than the pitching in league contests may not be as strong. He knew many of his current teammates before he transferred into Grand Street, so that wasn’t much of a transition. And splitting time between third base and catcher with Ernesto Lopez isn’t new either – Martir did the same last spring at Xaverian with Elvin Soto, now a freshman at Pittsburgh.
“Grand Street is a good place,” he said. “I feel the same way I did at Xaverian.”
Martir got to face his old teammates on Monday in Grand Street’s final pool play contest, a 4-0 Xaverian victory. Martir hit a few shots, but the Clippers were playing him deep and both times the long drives went as outs.
If Grand Street and Xaverian both prevail in the semifinals, Martir would get another crack at his old team.
“Hopefully,” he said, flashing a wide grin, “we see them in the finals.”