Martin, who was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday, has a mechanical flaw in his delivery he'll address while in the minors, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. "It's frustrating," Martin said after a start Monday. "I know what I'm doing wrong and not fixing it right now. We'll get into it, and it'll come. I know that."
Martin is flying open on his delivery, leaving his right arm behind the lower half of his body and thereby allowing the fastball to leak to his arm side. This has resulted in Martin consistently falling behind batters and digging himself a hole, a disturbing trend most recently illustrated when he threw just 42 of 76 pitches for strikes in each of his last two starts. Those struggles have led to Martin's removal from the big-league rotation for the time being and Framber Valdez being tabbed as his replacement beginning with a start this coming Saturday against the Orioles. "Not even really approach as much as execution," manager AJ Hinch said. "You have to throw the ball in the vicinity where you want and attack the strike zone. He's a strike thrower and always has been in his pro career. It's important for him to do that."