Austin Martin Has Latent Game-Breaking Ability

The Minnesota Twins initially called Austin Martin up to replace Royce Lewis when Lewis injured his quad on opening day. Lewis was upset that he had suffered another injury. However, if there was anyone who could replace him, he felt it should be his former 15U teammate.

“Chill, laid-back, wear whatever number you put on the jersey,” he said, describing Martin. “Ready to just go ball out for you, give you whatever he’s got.”

Minnesota sent Martin down in mid-May, but they recalled him for the Oakland A’s series on May 13. In the third game of the series, he made a catch seen around the baseball world.

“Hell yeah, I was surprised!” Martin said when a reporter asked about the catch. “I felt it go in my glove, but my whole arm kind of went over, so I didn't know what I would be bringing back. I didn't expect to bring back a baseball, so when I looked and I had it, I was like, ‘Dang, that's not bad.’”

He may be nonchalant and unassuming, but Martin can make extraordinary plays all over the field. He played third base at Vanderbilt, where he won the College World Series in 2019. However, the Toronto Blue Jays drafted him fifth overall as a shortstop a year later, and he’s played primarily outfield in the majors.

Martin says he’s comfortable playing all over; he just wants to be on the field as often as possible. Martin has had mishaps, including some inefficient routes in center field and a poor throw home from second base against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 20. However, he can rob hitters of home runs and

“He's a little bit of a different type of defender than maybe we're used to talking about,” said Rocco Baldelli.

“He's going to get a lot of his value as a player out there, being able to move all over the field even at second base when he's playing second, really being able to just go all over the place and make plays. That's where you're going to see him bringing things to the table that other people don't necessarily bring.”

Martin remains a work in progress offensively. He’s hitting .234/.309/.329, which is 20% worse than league average. Martin doesn’t offer much power, but his 82% contact rate is above average. He also scores 64.7% of the time when he reaches base, meaningfully higher than any other player in the league. Jorge Mateo has the next-best Score Rate, but the Baltimore Orioles shortstop only scores 50% of the time he reaches base.

Although Martin can change games on the basepaths, he says he doesn’t enter the game looking to score. Instead, he tries to be hyper-aware of his surroundings. For example, in Minnesota’s 10-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on August 2, Martin entered as a pinch runner in the bottom of the eighth. The Twins were leading 4-2 when White Sox reliever Steven Wilson hit Matt Wallner with a pitch, prompting Baldelli to replace him with Martin.

Carlos Santana flew out to left-center in the next at-bat. However, Martin saw the back of left fielder Andrew Benintendi’s jersey as he went to get the ball, indicating that Benintendi would have to throw against his momentum to get him at second. Martin took off and easily took second, then scored on Christian Vázquez’s double later in the inning.

Given the final score, the play feels inconsequential. Still, it was a close game when Martin took second, and his savvy baserunning put him in position to extend the lead.

“It’s a good base-running play,” said Baldelli.

Martin needs to become a league-average hitter to fully unlock his game-breaking ability. Still, a player who can back up Buxton at center, Lewis at third, and play second has value on Minnesota’s roster. Martin was Keith Law’s No. 1 prospect in the 2020 class, and the Twins gave up José Berríos to land him and Simeon Woods Richardson. Martin is an exceptional athlete and capable of being a dynamic player.

He hasn’t put it all together yet. But if he does, Martin can change the game with his baserunning and defense.