What happened to Austin Martin?

[bighat]

Austin Martin was the star prospect involved in the big Jose Berrios trade of 2021. A year prior, the Toronto Blue Jays drafted Martin with the #5 pick in the 2020 draft out of Vanderbilt University. Not long after he was drafted, Martin was listed as the #2 prospect in all of baseball. And when Martin landed in the Twins organization, most experts thought the Twins had found a new star that would be carrying the major league ballclub for years to come. One scout wrote: "Martin's upside is that of a perennial All Star, but he's most likely a strongly above-average regular who posts 3-4 WAR per season."

Hey, that's a pretty nice floor! So what happened? 

Martin spent almost all of 2022 at AA Wichita, where racked up 331 at-bats and hit .241 with 2 homers and a below-average .685 OPS. Luckily, he seemed to right the ship and had a huge performance in the Arizona Fall League, finishing third among qualified prospects in average (.373) and sixth in on-base percentage (.454) while stealing 10 bases.

Martin was invited to Twins spring training camp but had to be reassigned to Minor League camp in late March after spraining the UCL in his right elbow. He's listed as being on the 7-day IL, and still hasn't played a game for the Saints and there's no timetable for his return. He's no longer the #2 prospect in baseball - instead he is now listed as the Twins' #12 prospect. 

I still think Martin has a chance to become a big part of this team, but I must admit I'm not as certain as I was 2 years ago. Anyone want to contribute reasons to feel positive (or negative) about him? 

[Doctor Wu]

I still think that Martin has a future as a steady, but perhaps not stellar, MLB player. I was also encouraged by his performance in the Arizona Fall League, and hope that it's indicative of his making progress and gaining confidence. Any updates on his status for playing this year? 

[Squirrel]

30 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

He'll be fine once his arm heals.  I think they are trying to heal it with rest and rehab like they did with Paddock.  Time will tell whether he requires TJ surgery like Paddock did.  Either way, it will be a while before we see him.  Give him the time needed to heal and all will be good.

Um, Paddack had TJ surgery.

[Mike Sixel]

17 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Um, Paddack had TJ surgery.

That's what the poster said?

[tony&rodney]

Tough setback for Martin after the fine showing in Arizona. I'm guessing the Twins hope for healing until being forced to make a decision in June. Position players can usually return from TJ in 9 months.

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Agreed, and what I understood is that Austin Martin may need it also but they are trying rest and rehab first.

I was just confused, because I don't recall they did the 'rest and rehab' thing with Paddack. He had the surgery pretty quickly.

[East Coast Twin]

29 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I was just confused, because I don't recall they did the 'rest and rehab' thing with Paddack. He had the surgery pretty quickly.

They didn't.  He had the surgery nine days after his last start.

 

[Linus]

I wish nothing but the best for him as he could be a high obp guy which this lineup needs. One thing is that most people are using the afl results which are positive and incredibly small sample as a reason to be optimistic about his future. However his regular season was not good and a much larger sample. The guy has a lot to prove with the bat and no real position. 

[Doctor Gast]

On 4/25/2023 at 12:08 PM, Squirrel said:

I was just confused, because I don't recall they did the 'rest and rehab' thing with Paddack. He had the surgery pretty quickly.

SD really didn't want to commit to surgery so they went with the blood cell injections.

[Doctor Gast]

TOR & MN were tinkering with him to get more power out of his swing but towards the end of last season into the AFL, he went back to his basic swing and really broke out. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll sustain it. 

IMO he'll be very valuable as a true super utility player (probably not SS) but playing OF & at times 2B. Although he won't be a power hitter but he'll have his share of HRs and much more of his share of getting on base & stealing bases plus very good defense. I'm really anxious about his elbow, I'd like for him to have the TJ & start rehabbing as soon as possible so he can contribute to the MLB club.