Hofstra right-hander Carlos Martinez’s connection to baseball dates back to his earliest days, when he would sit in a stroller beyond the dugout fence while his father coached Little League.
This weekend, the 21-year-old pitcher could take a major step toward the dream he has chased for nearly his entire life: being selected in the MLB Draft.
“Hopefully, I’ll get my name called on the first day,” Martinez told The Post. “My goal is to play professional baseball and be one of the best at it.”
Martinez, a Queens native and Yankees fan, is listed at No. 212 on ESPN’s ranking of the top 250 MLB draft prospects. The rising senior has also benefited from the guidance of Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto, the former major leaguer who has helped shape his development.
“He’s just given me a lot of confidence,” Martinez said. “I feel like I can compete with anybody on the planet.”
Another local name to watch is Aiden Ruiz, a standout shortstop from Long Island’s Stony Brook School who has drawn considerable attention after graduating this year.
“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,” said Ruiz, a Queens native who is committed to Vanderbilt.
“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 when asked what separates him as a prospect.
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.
