SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Payton Martin planned on heading from West Forsyth HS (Clemmons, N.C.) to East Carolina to play shortstop. Then he made a handful of starts on the mound as a senior in 2022 and got spotted by Dodgers area scout Jonah Rosenthal.
A 17th-round pick and a $125,000 bonus later, he was a professional pitcher.
"I had five games at the end of the senior season," said Martin (LAD No. 20), who's currently pitching with the Arizona Fall League's Glendale Desert Dogs. "It was kind of a shocker to me because pitching really wasn't on my agenda. But I guess it was God's plan, you know, some things happen. Coach threw me in and the Dodgers were there to see me, so it's a blessing."
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When Martin focused on pitching and adding strength, his stuff took off in his 2023 pro debut. The right-hander's fastball went from the low 90s in high school to the mid-90s with a high of 98 mph, while his mid-80s slider became a legitimate plus pitch. He posted a 2.04 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings in Single-A, making an impression on evaluators inside and outside the organization.
Martin's offseason didn't go well, however. He was in a car accident that he said left him paralyzed for a couple of hours, had some other things going on and regressed physically. He said he didn't feel as athletic as usual in 2024, and his pitches as well as his control and command weren't as sharp as they had been the year before.
"After that 2023 season, I went through a couple of injuries that really held me back from my potential," he said. "The Dodgers really helped me get back to my athletic self, fielding ground balls, letting me hit, letting me just run around, athletic throws. That's one big piece of my game, and I'd say that was a big turnaround."
That approach worked because Martin looked like the best version of himself again in 2025. While he had a 5.08 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings in High-A, the quality of his pitches and his ability to locate them bounced back. He pitched a scoreless inning in his AFL debut, concentrating on his tight upper-80s slider while working in a 94-95 mph fastball.
"I'd say my slider is my number one because I feel like I can hit a cap off a bottle with it anywhere, any count," Martin said. "I'd say my fastball is probably second, then there's a close battle between my curveball and changeup right now. They're not used as much as the other two, but towards the end of the season, the changeup really was a good piece of my arsenal."
Dodgers hitters in the Fall League
Josue De Paula, OF (LAD No. 1/MLB No. 13): Signed out of the Dominican Republic for $397,500 in 2022, De Paula has an impressive combination of swing decisions and exit velocities for a 20-year-old. Compared as a slightly smaller but more athletic version of Yordan Alvarez, he hit .263/.406/.421 with 12 homers and 32 steals in 98 High-A games before going 0-for-18 in Double-A. He has yet to play in the AFL because of a hamstring injury.
Logan Wagner, 3B/2B (LAD No. 30): A sixth-round pick from a South Carolina high school in 2022, Wagner has power and patience but missed most of his first two full pro seasons after breaking both of his hamates. Healthy this year, he slashed .216/.345/.380 with 15 homers and 18 steals in 122 games in High-A. He led the Midwest League with 76 RBI while ranking second with 82 runs and third with 78 walks.
Jesus Galiz, C: Signed for $812,500 out of Venezuela in 2021, Galiz stands out most with his strong arm behind the plate. He batted .221/.319/.351 in 66 games between two Class A stops last season before missing all of 2025 following Tommy John surgery.
Nico Perez, 2B: Selected in the 15th round from a Puerto Rican high school in 2022, Perez hit .280/.380/.401 with 35 steals in 61 games in Single-A. An instinctive player with solid speed, he missed time this year with an oblique injury.
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Dodgers pitchers in the Fall League
Hyun-Seok Jang, RHP (No. 21): Projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Korea Baseball Organization draft, Jang instead signed with the Dodgers for $900,000. Armed with a mid-90s fastball and a plus mid-80s slider, he posted a 4.65 ERA, .165 opponent average and 54 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings in Single-A, albeit with 32 walks and some time missed with back tightness.
Jakob Wright, LHP (No. 28): A 2024 fourth-round pick out of Cal Poly, Wright missed much of his first full pro season with blister and intercostal issues. When healthy, he showed a pair of quality breaking pitches (low-80s sweeper, upper-70s curveball) and more fastball velocity than he had in college, working at 93-95 mph and touching 97. He compiled a 3.20 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings in Single-A.
Justin Chambers, LHP: Chambers had Tommy John surgery before the Brewers took him in the 20th round out of the 2023 Draft from an Arizona high school, and he joined the Dodgers in a January 2024 trade for Bryan Hudson. Displaying a 91-95 mph fastball and a slider that sits around 80 mph, he recorded a 3.09 ERA, .169 opponent average and 54 strikeouts in 35 innings between Rookie ball and Single-A.
Alex Makarewich, RHP: The Dodgers have helped Makarewich soup up his stuff since signing him as a 13th-rounder out of Northwestern State in 2023, and he now operates with a fastball that sits at 95-97 mph and touches 100 to go with a pair of power breaking pitches -- an upper-80s slider and a mid-80s curveball. He logged a 3.07 ERA with a .149 opponent average between two Class A stops, ranking fourth in the full-season Minors (minimum: 40 innings) in strikeouts per nine innings (15.3) but also third-worst in walk rate (24 percent).