Position: 1B
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 220 lbs
Bats/Throws: L/R
Born: 06/02/1999
High School: Southridge HS (Kennewick, WA)
How Acquired: Draft 17th Rd., 508th Overall, 2017
Bonus: $350,000
40-man Roster: No
Rule 5 Eligible: Yes
Minor League Free Agency: 2023
Options Left: 3
Overview
Baseball America had Martin 312th in its ranking of the top 500 draft prospects. BA had him listed as a first baseman, which is where he played in high school, but the Pirates announced him as a right fielder. His game is all about power. He has prodigious raw power, but he’s had trouble making contact. It’s not that he’s impatient. He draws a lot of walks, but he simply has sizeable holes in his swing. The Pirates moved him to first in his first full year and he eventually became at least solid there. Martin had a commitment to Gonzaga, but the Pirates signed him a few days before the signing deadline for $225,000 above the slot amount.
2017-18
Martin had a big debut season, leading the GCL in OBP, HRs and slugging, the latter two by wide margins. He was the league’s MVP, set the GCL Pirates’ record for HRs, and posted the third-highest OPS ever in the league. He had a very high walk total, but also struck out in about a third of his ABs.
In 2018, the Pirates sent Martin to low A. He started off well, batting 262/361/476 in April. After that, the pitchers evidently figured him out, and in May he hit just 106/222/128, with strikeouts in over half his at-bats. Things didn’t improve in June and the Pirates sent him to extended spring training a week into the month. Two weeks later he joined Bristol when its season started. He followed the same pattern there, hitting four home runs in his first five games, but tailing off gradually in July and posting just a .596 OPS in August, whiffing in exactly half his at-bats.
2019-21
The Pirates sent Martin back to low A and he had a huge season, including a July promotion to Bradenton. He totaled 35 HRs and 129 RBIs. These were easily the highest totals in the minors if you exclude AAA, where power stats exploded due to a livelier ball. Martin finished tied for first in the South Atlantic League in HRs and third in RBIs despite playing less than two-thirds of the season there. His K rate dropped a little at Greensboro, but edged back up again at Bradenton. His HR total at Greensboro wasn’t just the result of the HR-prone home park, as he hit 12 of his 23 on the road. On the season as a whole, Martin had a large platoon split, with a .955 OPS against RHPs and .720 against LHPs.
After the lost 2020 season, Martin went to AA and continued to hit for power, although his walk rate dropped sharply and he struck out more. He slumped in August and September after a big month in July. The ballpark at Altoona, which suppresses power, may have hurt him; he had a .707 OPS and eight home runs at home, .896 and 14 on the road. The Pirates moved Martin up to Indianapolis for eight late-season games and he hit three more homers. After the season, Martin was eligible for the Rule 5 draft, but the Pirates didn’t add him to the roster and he wasn’t selected.
2022-23
AAA: 210/287/410, 481 AB, 29 2B, 5 3B, 19 HR, 52 BB, 194 K, 12-15 SB
In 2022 at Indianapolis, Martin had a tough season. He started off with an outstanding month of April, posting a 1.021 OPS. After that he struggled and his K rate was off the charts, with 194 in 481 ABs. In the second half Martin seemed to be trying to tone down his approach. His best month, apart from April, was August, when he put up an .827 OPS despite not going deep all month.
The Pirates sent Martin to Altoona in 2023 and he hit much the same as always: low average, good power, a lot of walks and a very high K rate. That last was 35.7%. Martin eventually moved up to Indianapolis and got into 28 games there. He put up just a .649 OPS.
Martin will be a free agent in the fall.
Stats
Transactions
June 14, 2017: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round, 508th overall pick; signed on July 3.