Jeremy Martinez has positioned himself to succeed. It’s a spot he has worked hard to get, that small patch of dirt behind home plate where he has excelled and, as of last fall, has called his own.
Martinez moved into USC’s catcher job this season after a two-year wait behind All-American Garrett Stubbs, an eighth-round pick in last summer’s MLB Draft.
Yet Martinez didn’t just emerge from Stubbs’ shadow in his first full season as the Trojans’ catcher. The former Mater Dei High standout also has grabbed the spotlight from his predecessor, becoming the second USC catcher in as many years to be named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate catcher.