By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | February 1, 2017, 10:56 pm CT

The St. Louis Cardinals appear to have locked up their most promising young arm for years to come, as the club has agreed to a five-year, $51 million contract extension with right-hander Carlos Martinez, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

A source confirmed the deal, which will be a record for a first-time arbitration-eligible pitcher, to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Wednesday evening.

The Cardinals are expected to announced the new contract, which Langosch reports also includes two additional option years, at a press conference on Thursday.

In addition to eliminating Martinez’s arbitration hearing, which was scheduled for next Wednesday, the extension also buys out at least two of the righty’s free-agent years, meaning he’ll now be under team control through the 2021 season.

Martinez, 25, is widely considered one of the best young pitchers in baseball, and a pitcher the redbirds believe could be an ace for them for years to come.

In 2016, Martinez led the club’s starting rotation with 31 starts and 195 1/3 innings pitches while tallying 16 wins with a 3.04 ERA. Over the past few years, the Dominican starter has combined for a 30-16 record with a 3.02 ERA and 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings, producing 9.4 cumulative WAR.

After initially signing with the Cardinals in 2010, Martinez reached the majors in 2013, pitching primarily out of the bullpen for two seasons before emerging as a promising starter.

As Langosch notes, the move means the redbirds now have several rotation pieces in place for years to come. Adam Wainwright is signed through 2018, Mike Leake through 2020, and Alex Reyes won’t be eligible for free agency until at least 2022.

The extension leaves right-hander Michael Wacha as the club’s only arbitration-eligible player. The club plans to go to an arbitration hearing with his case, Langosch reports.

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