Carlos Martinez, a pitcher for Hofstra, has had a passion for baseball since his earliest days. As a little boy, he would sit in his stroller behind the dugout fence, watching his father coach Little League teams.
Now, at 21, the talented right-handed pitcher stands on the cusp of potentially being drafted into Major League Baseball this coming weekend.
Expressing his hopes to The Post, Martinez said, “I’m hoping to hear my name on the first day. My ultimate dream is to play professional baseball and excel at it.”
In the lead-up to the draft, Martinez finds himself ranked 212 in ESPN’s list of the top 250 MLB prospects. As a proud Yankees enthusiast from Queens, the soon-to-be senior has thrived under the guidance of Hofstra’s coach, Frank Catalanotto, who brings his own Major League experience.
“Coach Catalanotto has really boosted my confidence,” Martinez shared. “I genuinely believe I am capable of competing with anyone, anywhere.”
Long Island high school shortstop Aiden Ruiz is also hoping to hear his name called, as there’s been much noise around the Stony Brook School star who just graduated.
“I’m pretty calm right now. I haven’t thought too much about it, but as we get closer, I mean, it’s a thought every kid is going to have,” added the Vanderbilt commit, also from Queens.
“I feel like I am very consistent, I’m very hard working, and that’s just going to carry on and off the field,” Ruiz said of his defining qualities.
Should the 19-year-old have to wait another two years for a path into an MLB system, he’s OK with that too.
“I’ll go to college and go win a national championship with Vanderbilt,” Ruiz said.
Chris McHugh, a Commack High School 2023 graduate and North Carolina State first baseman, also attended the draft combine in June as a top prospect.
Title on the line
The Fighting Tomcats are on a highway to the danger zone.
American Soccer Club will take on New Haven United FC for the NPSL’s North Atlantic Conference championship after a 3-1 playoff win over the New York Shockers on Wednesday night.
“They’re up for it — it’s a healthy rivalry that we have with them,” head coach John Fitzgerald told The Post of the Connecticut team.
Their last meeting was plenty dramatic at Mitchel Field, when a storm forced an evacuation of the stadium while AFC trailed in the final minutes.
The Tomcats responded when the clouds cleared with a last-minute tying goal to end the match at 2-2 in June.
“I think the boys are feeling good,” Fitzgerald said of Sunday’s match.