Blue Jays' Rudy Martin Jr. Completes Long and Winding 12-Year Road to The Show
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Today's high school seniors in Rudy Martin Jr.'s hometown of Olive Branch, MS, were in kindergarten when the Royals drafted the then-18-year-old Martin Jr. in the 25th round of the 2014 draft.
A lot has changed since then.
The MLB draft no longer has a 25th round; it has been trimmed to 20.
AI is no longer primarily associated with Allen Iverson.
Those seniors in Olive Branch, MS, will graduate this spring.
And on Friday, after 931 Minor League games across 12 seasons, Martin graduated to the Major Leagues when he was called up to Toronto.
Jesús Sánchez was designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
Martin made his debut that night pinch running for George Springer in the bottom of the 9th in the Blue Jays' 7-4 loss to Baltimore.
Saturday, he started for the first time in the Major Leagues, with his parents, aunt, cousin, girlfriend, and girlfriend's mother watching him walk onto the proverbial stage at Rogers Center wearing a Blue Jays cap.
No gown needed.
When you are the shortest player in the Majors at 5'5", the cap is more than enough, and they probably don't have a gown in your size anyway.
There was little pomp, but plenty of circumstance. Martin started in left field and batted ninth for Toronto in the midst of a September playoff race.
He went 0 for 2 with a walk in his Saturday debut.
In addition to walking in nearly 13% of his minor league plate appearances, Martin's journey has included planes, trains, and automobiles.
And lots of buses rambling across long, lonely highways well after midnight.
Around The World And Back Again
Martin played for fifteen different teams, some multiple times, in eleven different states.
He roamed four countries, including a winter spent down under in Melbourne, Australia.
He honed his craft in four foreign leagues, two independent leagues, and eleven minor leagues, several of which changed names and affiliated clubs between his pre- and post-COVID stints.
One of those clubs, the Wilmington, DE Blue Rocks, moved from being a Royals affiliate to a Nationals affiliate. Martin played for Wilmington in both organizations.
And, oh, the places he'd go.
From the Atlantic League to the Pacific Coast League.
From the mountains of Idaho to the temptations of Tijuana.
From the dairy farms of Wisconsin to the tomato fields of Culiacán, Mexico.
He somehow missed the redwood forests and the Gulf Stream waters.
His Baseball-Reference page lists the following stops:
Royals Organization (2015 - 2021): Arizona Complex League - Idaho Falls - Lexington, KY - Northwest Arkansas - Wilmington, DE - Lexington, KY - Wilmington , DE- Omaha - Northwest Arkansas - Omaha
Australian Baseball League (2018-2019): Melbourne Aces
Nationals Organization (2022): Florida Complex League - Wilmington - Harrisburg
Independent Leagues unaffiliated with any MLB Team (2023-2024): The Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association; York Revolution of the Atlantic League
Mexican Leagues (2024-2025): Tomatores de Cualican (translates to Tomatoes), Toros de Tijuana
Dominican Winter League: Toros del Este
Back with the Royals Organization (2026): Northwest Arkansas - Omaha
Blue Jays Organization (2026) - Buffalo
Which brings us to this past Friday, when Triple-A Buffalo Bisons manager Casey Candaele called Martin Jr. into his office.
Candaele picks it up from here, sharing via text:
"I called him into the office and asked him how he was feeling since he was returning from an issue with his hamstring. Asked if he could play tomorrow, and he assured me he was fine.
"I then told him I was also thinking of having him not come to the field tomorrow to give him time to rest up. He laughed and looked at me like I was crazy. He said, 'Skip, if I’m here and healthy, I'm ready to play; I don’t need to rest!”'
"To which I responded, 'Well, I don’t want you to come in tomorrow because you’re going to be on a flight to Toronto.'
"He then proceeded to put his face in his shirt and cry. Which, in turn, made me and the staff in the office cry. Rudy took his face out of his shirt and asked me if I was messing with him. I told him I would joke about a lot of things, but you going to the big leagues would not be one of them. Not to mention that it wouldn’t be a very funny joke.
"He expressed through his tears of joy that his mom and family were here, making it even that much more special.
"One of the best call-ups for me, ever!"
A Cruel Summer
In 2026 alone, Martin was traded by the Royals and designated for assignment by both the Orioles and Blue Jays.
Baltimore waived him on July 20th after acquiring him from the Royals for cash two days earlier.
The Blue Jays claimed him off waivers on July 23rd, only to designate him for assignment on August 7th to open a roster spot for fellow speedster Brett Bateman.
He cleared waivers and returned to Buffalo on August 10th. He stole a dozen bases in 27 games with Buffalo. For the season, he has swiped 45 bags in 91 games across the Royals and Blue Jays organizations, along with a .394 on-base percentage.
What Martin Brings to Toronto
Before he was placed on the injured list Monday, the Blue Jays had hoped Martin could be a catalyst for the final two weeks, much like Brett Bateman has been for the final two months.
Like Bateman, Marin brings speed, defense, and a high OBP to the Blue Jays. Martin was slashing .274/.394/.421 across Double-A and Triple-A in 2026.
While he's not a power hitter, he has some pop, hitting eleven home runs this season in the minors. Perhaps, like Bateman, he could have surprised with a couple of home runs.
Even with an injury, Candaele also shared that Martin brings a lot to a team off the field.
"Rudy is a high-character individual who affects those around him in an extremely positive way," Candaele shared. "A highly competitive player who cares about the team. Mostly, though, a kind and generous person who is fun and inspiring to be around."
Don't Give Up. Don't Ever Give Up.
But even the fun and inspiring have their doubts after a dozen years of riding buses.
He had questioned if he would ever make the Big Leagues before, but a week before his call-up, he was starting to wonder if his career might soon be over.
“I’ve been DFA’d twice in the last month-and-a-half," Martin shared with MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. "Coming down to the last month of the season, you know that teams like to bring up their prospects and get them in. I was nervous. I was just wondering what my next move would be. This is the last thing ... This place, it’s the last place I expected to be.”
He leaned on his family for help, and they would not let him give up on his dream.
Rudy in turn, serves as an inspiration for his younger brother Robinson (20), who also plays baseball.
Rudy Martin Jr. was DFA twice in the last month and wondered if it might be over after 12 minor-league seasons.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) September 11, 2026
After joining Blue Jays at the MLB level, he credits his family for helping him through some tough times. "They weren't gonna let me give up on it that easy."
In 1993, the movie Rudy told the story of an underestimated, undersized player with a relentless spirit who defied the odds and achieved his goal of playing football for Notre Dame.
If they ever do Rudy 2 as a baseball movie, Martin's story could certainly serve as the script.
Unfortunately, unlike in Hollywood, real-life stories don't always have happy endings. Before Monday night's game against Detroit, Martin was placed on the injured list with a hamstring injury.
Maybe his story would be a better script for Field of Dreams 2.
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Adam Steinmetz writes about the Toronto Blue Jays for On SI. Adam is also the editor and publisher of the Boston Sunday Sports Section, a weekly digital publication covering the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins. A two-time winner of the Best Collegiate Sports Writer award in Philadelphia, he began his career with freelance work for The Philadelphia Daily News and The Palm Beach Post before building a successful career outside of journalism. He returned to sports writing last year, contributing to Pitcher List—including coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays—before launching Authorenticity on Substack, where he explores the human stories within baseball. The Boston Sunday Sports Section is his most ambitious project — the thinking fan’s modern Sunday Sports Section focused on the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins.