Can Austin Martin Become Steven Kwan-lite?

[stringer bell]

The Twins began 2025 with Matt Wallner as their primary lead off hitter and finished the season using Byron Buxton in the #1 spot in the lineup. The team hasn't had a consistent leadoff hitter during most of the Rocco Baldelli era. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians have had a steady presence in the leadoff position. Steven Kwan has led off almost exclusively for four consecutive years and he has been productive and valuable. Kwan is a two-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner. He's averaged more than 4 WAR per year as an old style leadoff hitter. Kwan hits for a high average, walks above league average, doesn't strike out much and is an asset both on the bases and in the field despite having limited extra base power.

Austin Martin possesses a similar skill set--good speed, defensive upside, high contact and limited power-and showed vast improvement in his 50-game audition after the trade deadline. Most Twins followers have projected him to be a platoon or utility player for 2026. I think it would be very beneficial for the team to have a consistent lead off hitter who offered speed, defense and high OBP.

Is it possible that he could take the step into becoming a full-time leadoff guy and left fielder? I honestly think there is a chance, especially with a new mnger and coaching staff. It would require Martin to continue to improve in all facets of his game, but he does the strengths in his game that could make him very valuable to the Twins.

What is the opinion of the fan base on Twins Daily?  Is there someone else in the system that could step up and into a lead off role? Do you see having a regular leading off almost every day as helpful for the team?

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[RpR]

NO!

To say he looks more like Jake  Cave's first two years would  be an insult to Jake.

[old nurse]

How quickly people forget that Cave’s first 2 years were when there was a juiced ball. Not that he hit a lot of HR, but it was a dramatic drop off with the change. 

[old nurse]

If the .374 OBP is sustainable then he should be the leadoff hitter. 

[stringer bell]

9 hours ago, RpR said:

NO!

To say he looks more like Jake  Cave's first two years would  be an insult to Jake.

Jake Cave wasn't mentioned in the OP. Cave was a fourth OF who featured more power than speed or OBP and was never thought of as an everyday leadoff hitter. 

Martin's skill set include relatively good contact and OBP tendencies, good speed with the ability to steal bases and, at least last year, improving outfield defense. He was compared to Kwan because his strengths match up with Kwan's strengths. Martin hasn't had a single healthy season to date, but maybe if he were to stay healthy he could make the leap to everyday player.

[jorgenswest]

His numbers were solid last year and it doesn’t appear to be luck. His xWOBA was greater than his wOBA. His challenge will be how he responds as the league adjusts to him.

[Linus]

As always, an interesting topic. He clearly played better on both sides of the ball the last couple months. Not every player has to be a five tool player but they do have to bring something to the table. In Martins case, if he can play good defense in left and get on base, that would be a huge improvement in what we have been getting from left field lately. The trick is how does he handle the inevitable adjustments the league is going to make. Some guys handle it, the rest become high school coaches. 

[tony&rodney]

Martin took his every day slot in the lineup as an opportunity to show his skills. While Austin didn't tear up the league in his showing in 50 post All Star play, he did put up positive numbers at the plate and showed himself to be a good left fielder. We can be justifiably cautious about his past struggles and injuries but Martin was among the best players the Twins put on the field after the break last year. Certainly one would think he would be given every opportunity in 2026 to show that he can replicate or improve upon his trial run in 2025. At some point the Twins need to decide if a player's performance is worthy of a regular starting status. That said, if someone understands the Falvey Era Plan, write it up please. While Austin Martin has not shown the sustained success needed to automatically claim a position, he did enough to get first shot at LF in ST. Only Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers (part time at catcher) are in ink. Naturally, the front office and fans have already decided who else is a regular but there are bound to be differences of opinion. Good luck to Austin.

[stringer bell]

55 minutes ago, Linus said:

As always, an interesting topic. He clearly played better on both sides of the ball the last couple months. Not every player has to be a five tool player but they do have to bring something to the table. In Martins case, if he can play good defense in left and get on base, that would be a huge improvement in what we have been getting from left field lately. The trick is how does he handle the inevitable adjustments the league is going to make. Some guys handle it, the rest become high school coaches. 

I think Martin is an interesting case. He is a righty hitter, so platoon usage means a minor role and he's not really that versatile so he's not really a prototypical utility player He does possess skills that the team, as a whole, lacks. 

I don't know if Shelton will prefer an everyday leadoff guy, but if he does, Martin does check most of the boxes. I do think it is a year of decision. If he doesn't stake a claim to an everyday job, he probably never will. 

[Vanimal46]

I don't really care to have Martin as the everyday LF. I'd rather leave that spot open to Walker Jenkins when he's hopefully called up in May. 

[Linus]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

I think Martin is an interesting case. He is a righty hitter, so platoon usage means a minor role and he's not really that versatile so he's not really a prototypical utility player He does possess skills that the team, as a whole, lacks. 

I don't know if Shelton will prefer an everyday leadoff guy, but if he does, Martin does check most of the boxes. I do think it is a year of decision. If he doesn't stake a claim to an everyday job, he probably never will. 

Agree with all of this especially about the importance of this year. Make or break for several players  

[Major League Ready]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

I don't really care to have Martin as the everyday LF. I'd rather leave that spot open to Walker Jenkins when he's hopefully called up in May. 

I am not sure which one, but Jenkins will replace one of the corner OFers..  Your preference seems pretty inevitable.  Who ends up the 3rd primary OFer after the deadline?  That's a lot harder to predict.  Who would you bet on?  (Erod / Gonzalez / Roden / Larnach / Wallner / Mendez / other)  Lots of candidates.  That would be a good poll for TD.

[RpR]

7 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Jake Cave wasn't mentioned in the OP. Cave was a fourth OF who featured more power than speed or OBP and was never thought of as an everyday leadoff hitter. 

Martin's skill set include relatively good contact and OBP tendencies, good speed with the ability to steal bases and, at least last year, improving outfield defense. He was compared to Kwan because his strengths match up with Kwan's strengths. Martin hasn't had a single healthy season to date, but maybe if he were to stay healthy he could make the leap to everyday player.

He is Nothing like Kwan, to Any degree.

He is not even close to as good as Cave was; to say he is like Kwan is just plain silly.

[Vanimal46]

45 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

I am not sure which one, but Jenkins will replace one of the corner OFers..  Your preference seems pretty inevitable.  Who ends up the 3rd primary OFer after the deadline?  That's a lot harder to predict.  Who would you bet on?  (Erod / Gonzalez / Roden / Larnach / Wallner / Mendez / other)  Lots of candidates.  That would be a good poll for TD.

Not sure but my hope is the clutter of corner OF get cleaned up this offseason. 

[thelanges5]

To be competitive the Twins will need many of their young guys to take a step forward. I liked what I saw from Martin at the end of last season. He played a little second base too, but I’m not sure how he looked there?

If Buck continues to want to bat lead off, maybe Martin could bat ninth so he’d have someone to drive in?

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

He is Nothing like Kwan, to Any degree.

He is not even close to as good as Cave was; to say he is like Kwan is just plain silly.

What does Jake Cave have to do with Austin Martin? As noted previously, he was a fourth OF who featured power over OBP and/or defense.

Martin hasn’t played close to the level of Kwan (I never said he did), but the skill sets are similar. If Martin would break out, it is likely his stats would be similar to what Kwan has put up over the last four years.

Making a snap judgment is your prerogative, but I was encouraged by Martin’s play late in 2025. He’s a long way from a sure thing, but as I said earlier, his strengths are areas where the Twins are lacking so I think he could help the team. 

[Linus]

This take is too rational for some TD posters. 

[jorgenswest]

I hope they keep giving him work at 2B. If Keaschall suffers another injury or can’t play 2B adequately following the arm injuries they have options in Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Roden and Fedko in left field but not near the options for 2B.

 

[Vanimal46]

2 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

I hope they keep giving him work at 2B. If Keaschall suffers another injury or can’t play 2B adequately following the arm injuries they have options in Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Roden and Fedko in left field but not near the options for 2B.

 

That will be his best bet for a majority of his playing time. He doesn’t have much of a future in the OF 

[RpR]

3 hours ago, stringer bell said:

What does Jake Cave have to do with Austin Martin? As noted previously, he was a fourth OF who featured power over OBP and/or defense.

Martin hasn’t played close to the level of Kwan (I never said he did), but the skill sets are similar. If Martin would break out, it is likely his stats would be similar to what Kwan has put up over the last four years.

Making a snap judgment is your prerogative, but I was encouraged by Martin’s play late in 2025. He’s a long way from a sure thing, but as I said earlier, his strengths are areas where the Twins are lacking so I think he could help the team. 

What does Kwzn have to do with Martin,  If you are going to compare choose semi-realistic person to compare to.

Martin is not even remotely like Kwan.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

What does Kwzn have to do with Martin,  If you are going to compare choose semi-realistic person to compare to.

Martin is not even remotely like Kwan.

I'll bite one more time. Kwan is a left fielder, Martin has played left field a majority of his time in the majors. Kwan is a leadoff hitter. Martin profiles as a leadoff or at least top of the order hitter. Kwan is a fine defender. Martin took large steps to be an above average left fielder last year. Neither Kwan nor Martin is considered a power hitter by any means and both are above average at making contact as well as both have above average speed. As of now, there is no comparison in their big league achievements, but their skill sets and strengths are very similar in my opinion.

This thread was started to discuss whether Austin Martin was capable of taking the step of becoming a full-time player and leadoff man, which is what Steven Kwan has been in his four-year career. I can respect someone saying they don't think so, but I think it is obtuse or trolling to claim that they are not remotely similar.

 

[Squirrel]

10 hours ago, RpR said:

What does Kwzn have to do with Martin,  If you are going to compare choose semi-realistic person to compare to.

Martin is not even remotely like Kwan.

Stop trolling. If you don’t want to discuss this topic, don’t. 

[DJL44]

On 1/1/2026 at 7:28 AM, old nurse said:

If the .374 OBP is sustainable then he should be the leadoff hitter. 

It probably isn't, but .360 should be good enough for him to hit leadoff. A .270/.360/.360 season would be great for Martin.

I like Martin/Keaschall/Buxton in that order whether it is 1/2/3 or 9/1/2. Bell, Jeffers, Wallner and Lewis are the middle of the order with Lee and Clemens at the bottom.

I think Keaschall will play 2B and Martin will play LF but they could swap positions during the course of the season. Either of them could even get games at first base. I expect Kody Clemens to get innings at 1B, 2B and LF as well.

[DocBauer]

Stringer, I've been up and down, up and down, for 4yrs since the Twins acquired Martin. And I'm not going to cover old ground. 

While some don't appreciate the total context of what you're discussing, I see it.

Martin had an incredible start in 2025, but was plagued by a bad hamstring injury. I have little doubt a healthy Martin would have been brought up earlier had he been healthy. Numbers are one thing that we can all look at and measure. Did Martin have better numbers in 2025 vs 2024? Yes he did. Were they in a smaller sample? Also yes. But even though I watched fewer games late in 2025 due to frustration, the Martin I watched just seemed more confident in his AB. It just looked like he turned a corner in his approach. What really blew me away was how well he played LF. Previously, he looked like someone in the fan section looking to grab a hotdog or T-shirt from a cannon. But he suddenly looked looked like someone who could actually track a ball! And he made a handful of great plays.

More confidence at the plate, better numbers, even in a relatively SSS, and greater confidence and defense in the OF has me believing he might have actually matured in to a decent, solid ML player. And I don't think it's just an illusion. I think we're seeing a drafted "athlete" who is actually turning in to a ML player.

BUT, he has to have enough POP in his bat to produce DBLs and the occasional HR or he will be eaten up. He did flash more of that ability in 2025. His speed plays, as long as he learns to run the bases better as he's also made a few egregious errors at times. With all due respect to Roden, who has been ridiculously written off by so many after a very brief rookie appearance, I can easily see Martin replicating his solid and very improved 2 months to end the 2025 season.

IMO, Martin is the "preason" starting LF based on defense and his 2025 season. With NO IMPROVEMENT, he could still be a top of the order batter based on what he did in 2025. That AVG and OB% was damn good.

But if he's as good, how does he fit in Shelton's lineup? I like Buxton in the #3 spot to have runners to knock in. So I can see Martin and Keaschall being an excellent top of the order setting the table. I can also see Martin spraying some line drives here and there, providing speed, but not being enough Kwan-like to sit at the top of the lineup, but being a tremendous #9 hitter who helps flip the lineup over again.

I see what you see.

But I also see Rodriguez, and Jenkins, and Gonzalez, and Roden taking the next turn, and I see Martin maybe not fitting in in the near future. But he has the opportunity to be a solid ML bat and contributor in the near future for the Twins.

[jorgenswest]

I think Martin will always fit on a roster. Positional flexibility, speed and the ability to take a good at bat will always work on a bench even if there isn’t enough power to be a starter.

I think Martin’s best fit is 2B. There has to be some concern about Keaschall at 2B. He was a questionable fit at the time of the draft before the arm injuries. Keaschall’s arm strength was 6th percentile last year. If Keaschall’s average of 74.7 MPH improves to around his max last year of 78.3 MPH that will probably work for most double play turns.

We can’t compare Martin’s average of 85.5 MPH from outfield with Keaschall from second base directly as it is a different throw. Willi Castro’s MPH from 2B is a few MPH less than outfield. The difference between Keaschall and Martin is enough to believe that last year Martin’s arm was significantly better. Does a healthy Keaschall have enough arm to play 2B or is Martin the better option? 

[Fatbat]

It sure would be exciting to see Martin leadoff if he infact could be close to a .400 obp guy for a full season. Somehow I just don’t see it but Gabby could be that guy by June 1.

[stringer bell]

48 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

I think Martin will always fit on a roster. Positional flexibility, speed and the ability to take a good at bat will always work on a bench even if there isn’t enough power to be a starter.

I think Martin’s best fit is 2B. There has to be some concern about Keaschall at 2B. He was a questionable fit at the time of the draft before the arm injuries. Keaschall’s arm strength was 6th percentile last year. If Keaschall’s average of 74.7 MPH improves to around his max last year of 78.3 MPH that will probably work for most double play turns.

We can’t compare Martin’s average of 85.5 MPH from outfield with Keaschall from second base directly as it is a different throw. Willi Castro’s MPH from 2B is a few MPH less than outfield. The difference between Keaschall and Martin is enough to believe that last year Martin’s arm was significantly better. Does a healthy Keaschall have enough arm to play 2B or is Martin the better option? 

Much like Lewis-Lee, the Keaschall-Martin pairing is pretty complex. The team wants to put the best lineup out there and perhaps that includes both Luke and Austin. Then the question becomes what is best for the team. If Martin is the better defender at both positions, should he play his "best" position? If Keaschall is clearly better at one spot, is that the position he should play? What might be best for the individual isn't necessarily what is best for the team. 

It is my opinion that Austin Martin's best defensive position is and will continue to be left field. He seemed to get significantly better jumps and take better routes in 2025 and seemed far more comfortable in left field as opposed to center. His defense at second base would seem to be average, although I thought his decision making there was pretty poor.

Keaschall's defense would seem to be determined. With plus speed, his range should be decent at whatever position he plays. He has played almost his entire professional career with a bad or rehabbing throwing arm, so we won't really know what kind of arm strength and accuracy he has when healthy. If the offense is legitimate, he should be able to play anywhere on the defensive spectrum, but it probably helps the team most if he can play an adequate second base. 

It makes sense to me to continue to play both guys at the positions they played in the fall. If Keaschall shows he is subpar at second, then make a move. Martin would need to continue to produce offensively to keep a steady job in left field. There are a lot of guys looking over his shoulder for playing time. If Keaschall would be moved off the keystone, Martin would be a candidate there. It's really a jigsaw puzzle with no photo to use as a key.

[IndianaTwin]

I'd love to see Martin turn into a great player. What continues to baffle me is people seeing Martin as a given in the lineup based on his 181 PAs in 2025 with an OPS+ of 106, while ignoring his previous 257 PAs with an OPS+ of 89. Yet they simultaneously consider Wallner a question mark because he only had an OPS+ of 110 over 392 PAs in 2025, ignoring his previous 580 PAs with an OPS+ of 139. 

[stringer bell]

20 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

I'd love to see Martin turn into a great player. What continues to baffle me is people seeing Martin as a given in the lineup based on his 181 PAs in 2025 with an OPS+ of 106, while ignoring his previous 257 PAs with an OPS+ of 89. Yet they simultaneously consider Wallner a question mark because he only had an OPS+ of 110 over 392 PAs in 2025, ignoring his previous 580 PAs with an OPS+ of 139. 

Short answer--recency bias. Longer answer--Martin provides skills the fan base see as lacking in recent Twins teams. There is hope of a player who can win games with his bat, his legs and his glove. 

I agree that Austin Martin is far from a lock to become a regular on the 2026 Twins. He has to maximize his hitting value by getting on base, become a smarter base runner and field his position above league average. There is no guarantee that he'll do any of these things. 

Martin has a high draft pedigree and we saw glimpses of a good player after the trade deadline. I have hopes of a breakout in 2026, but tempered with the reality that he is almost 27 years old and has thus far been a replacement player at best.

[tony&rodney]

The only thing a player can do to grab a place in the lineup is to perform at a high level on a consistent basis. We cannot know how the players themselves feel about how the Twins franchise is run, but there must be be some befuddlement based on the past practices. 

The discussion regarding Austin Martin seems very similar to much of what has filled Twins Daily this offseason. The plans seem to be based on a pile of "ifs". 

The only way the Twins team can manage to salvage the organization is if a large percentage of unknowns perform at a maximum level. Currently the Twins have one position player who is a known. They have two starting pitchers who are knowns. I'm quite bullish on a number of Twins prospects. I'm also thinking positively about a few rostered players. I'm hoping Austin Martin gets a fair shake, but have no idea how the club views him.