The Milwaukee Brewers have not developed a Major League-caliber first baseman since Prince Fielder, who manned the position for the team from 2006 until he left in free agency following the 2011 season. In the 11 seasons that followed that year, the Brewers had 11 different players start at first base on Opening Day:
- Mat Gamel (2012)
- Alex Gonzalez (2013)
- Lyle Overbay (2014)
- Adam Lind (2015)
- Chris Carter (2016)
- Eric Thames (2017)
- Ryan Braun (2018)
- Jesus Aguilar (2019)
- Justin Smoak (2020)
- Keston Hiura (2021)
- Rowdy Tellez (2022)
Tellez became the first Brewers first baseman to start consecutive Opening Days since Fielder when he did so again in 2023. Last season, Rhys Hoskins manned the position and seems poised to do so again in 2025.
But Hoskins, who is picked up his $18 million player option earlier this offseason, is not viewed as a long-term answer at the position. Milwaukee, ideally, would love to have their own developed player at first base, but the only one that have had since, Garrett Cooper, was traded to the New York Yankees in 2017 before he even reached the Majors.
He has since played for five different Major League teams in what has turned into an eight-year journeyman career.
Milwaukee Brewers Fans May Want to Keep an Eye on Ernesto Martinez Jr.
On Saturday, the Brewers won their Cactus League opener against the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 8-7. The hero of their first Spring Training game was shortstop Vinny Capra, who hit two home runs and six RBI, including a walk-off three-run blast.
But another intriguing Brewers prospect, first baseman Ernesto Martinez Jr., also turned some heads. The only Milwaukee player to play all nine innings on Saturday, Martinez was 1-4 with a two-run home run that tied the game at five runs apiece in the seventh inning.
After a standout year in Double-A, Ernesto Martinez Jr. homered in his first game of Spring 📈 pic.twitter.com/Mn1EhyOPKn
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) February 22, 2025
A non-roster invitee to Spring Training, Martinez first signed with the Brewers in 2017 and has been a part of the organization ever since. Even though he is an older prospect (he will be 26 years old this year), he is just now starting to look like the player Milwaukee envisioned he would become, and more, when they signed him as a wiry 18-year-old out of Cuba.
Now standing six-foot-six and weighing 250 pounds, Martinez hit an impressive .284/.365/.466 with 13 home runs and 62 RBI in 110 games with Double-A Biloxi last year. But not only did he start to show the power that the Brewers knew he had in him, he also showed surprising speed and athleticism by stealing 20 bases.
Nicknamed “the Cuban Missile,” Martinez was the first non-rostered player the Brewers invited to Spring Training. In an article written by Adam McCalvy back in November of 2024, Brewers assistant director of player development Brenton Del Chairo was quoted as saying:
“You have to see it in person. The first thing you’ll be astounded by is the massive size of this person. But he’s extremely mobile and he does things at that size that are so athletic. It’s extremely fun to watch. And he plays with such energy and passion.
“‘El espectáculo’ is what we call him, and he lives up to it, I’ll tell you that.”
And while Martinez has a long way to go to make the Opening Day roster, he does have the fact that he is a left-handed hitter in his favor. Hoskins, a right-handed hitter, will get the majority of starts this season, but the job of backing him up is up for grabs.
The incumbent, Jake Bauers, is also a left-handed hitter, but hit just .199/.301/.361 for the Brewers last season. He is back on a minor league deal, which means his spot on the roster is far from guaranteed as well.
If Martinez continues to hit with power, and can keep getting on base while playing the high-quality defense he has proven to be capable of, it may not be long until he finds himself in Milwaukee.
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