Austin Martin Could Be the September Spark the Twins Need

Great OBP. It would lead the twins if he could maintain it. OPS 737. OK if he can maintain that. He would be a more productive player especially if the next 3 batters come through. The odds of that happening? Stranger things have happened. Perhaps next year he is the replacement for Michael A Taylor

Castro has been a valuable bench player That has stepped in & kept us a float these months when Gallo, Correa & Buxton has let us down. But Martin is a grade above Castro & expect great things from him now that he's back to his strengths. I agree Martin step in & be a spark plug that'd pay off towards the end of the season & post season.

Just great to see him back to health and embracing the type of baseball that made him such a high pick (and will be how he makes his mark in the majors).

One has to wonder if the trade to the Twins was a bit of bad luck for him. At the time of the trade, our organization was fully invested in the HR or bust approach. A trade to an organization that would have continue to focus on his true competitive advantage instead of trying to create another one might have been a better move for him.  Alas, he is where he is now and, thankfully, it appears the Twins (and the league) may be moving in the direction of his true (and differentiated) skill base. 

If Lewis finds himself in CF next year (to make way for Lee and Julien in the infield), Martin very well could end up a super utility role or left field.  If not, it’s not outside the realm of possibility he develops into a more everyday CFer.

Regardless, the prospect of OBA machines with a bit of stolen base prowess Julien, Martin and Lee at the top of the order in ‘24 is exciting. 

I love Castro as a bench player. Martin has the potential to be better. He's a great base stealer and will get on base more. He just has to be able to hit enough.

I agree that Austin Martin could be an effective player for the Twins in September. Willi Castro is best used as a utility player, being stretched as a regular. The issue for Martin is going to be at bats. He needs to be in the lineup on a consistent basis. Who gets sent down or dropped? The Twins have Kirilloff (when he returns), Gallo, Polanco, Solano, Julien, Correa, Lewis (when he returns), and Farmer currently available for the infield. Meanwhile, guys like Martin, Brooks Lee, and Anthony Prato are waiting for their chance. All of Kirilloff, Gallo, Lewis, Prato, and Martin can also be considered for the outfield as well. Kepler, Wallner, Taylor are the guys already up with Larnach, Celestino, and pile of others waiting for at bats. Oh, Miranda?

Where do the at bats come from, either now or in the future? I find it impossible to see a pattern that indicates a preferred style of player, unless one sees a general preference for experienced players.

Still, yes it would be refreshing to see Austin Martin get on base and steal some bases sometime soon at Target Field.

17 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

You stated that Martin would "probably get on base more than Castro" and that "this lineup needs hitters who can generate runs".  But finish with saying you "don't think Martin will help accomplish that goal."  Sounds like you're contradicting yourself.

I think he's saying Matrin'll get on base somewhat more than Castro, but steal fewer bases (including home less), and get fewer xbh resulting in a terrible OPS; and not really be a hitter that generates runs any better than Castro does.

For the season, Martin is like one of the weakest offensive players at St. Paul right now statistically and well below league average. Maybe he's now healthy and has turned things around, but this whole thing seems like wishful thinking.

21 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Or better. Like Wallner and Julien..... And Lewis. And Kiriloff. Some people have no interest in prospects, yet every MLB player was one. 

As you well know, any hope of sustained success for this team is developing prospects.  The previous core was going nowhere and future success will be a product of how far Jeffers / Kirilloff / Lewis / Julien / Lee / Wallner and those yet to come can take us.  Hopefully, a couple more from the group of Martin / Severino / Rodriquez / Prato, etc help starting next year and Jenkins / Winokur, etc can support that core group 3-4 years down the road.  Lacking interest or respect for the importance of prospects requires an exceptional lack of awareness of how winning teams are being built.

I will continue to watch closely and cheer on players like Martin to reach their potential.  I don't see him contributing to 2023 but hopefully he is part of 24.

The fact that Castro gets put in the leadoff spot or is being used like a regular player when he should be strictly a bench player only proves one point. Rocco isn't qualified for his job. As for Martin, his path to a big league club would come faster if he was traded. The Twins are enamored with the HR ball and he doesn't fit their scheme. At the same time, if the younger set of players that the Twins have, Lewis, Lee, Julien, Miranda, Kirilloff, Larnach, Wallner, Jeffers, Gordon, Celestino all start playing up to their potential there just won't be enough at bats available for everyone, especially considering guys like Correa and Buxton aren't going anywhere either. 

9 hours ago, Danchat said:

Austin Martin has been a poor defender in the infield in his minor league career

I'm going to disagree a little. He has not been very good at SS but I think he can do well at 2B, LF and CF. Much more athletic than Julien. Not a whole lot of history because the Twins had him at SS for so long.

His eye at the plate seems to be about as good as anyone in our minor league system (as Julien has graduated). Martin has great speed and I believe he will steal bases much like Castro does. A lot of people complain (rightly so) about how much the Twins strike out. Here's someone that puts the ball in play.

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Or better. Like Wallner and Julien..... And Lewis. And Kiriloff. Some people have no interest in prospects, yet every MLB player was one. 

Yes and very few make it to the bigs and a tiny protion are above league average.

All bring up so and so because he will make the team better, seems to be based on posters looking at them like a father figure: My new boy is better than the your old boy.

10 hours ago, Danchat said:

Any random AAAA player can have a two week long hot streak in AAA

Especially now when two weeks = two opponents

If Martin reaches his potential he could be a real asset going forward. Castro has helped a lot this year, but there is a reason Detroit released him. With Lewis and Lee as future mainstays in the lineup things are looking up. However, they tried Lewis in CF once before and that didn’t work out very well. Too many high potential infielders is a good problem to have. And Lewis and Martin are fast, so that will add a dimension that hasn’t been appreciated lately in MLB. 

I don't think Martin is ready quite yet. He's certainly not a better option than Willi Castro at this moment. He's about where Castro was at the same age (24) - not quite good enough to help a major league team.

I wish Martin had Prato's skills or Prato had Martin's tools.

11 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Just great to see him back to health and embracing the type of baseball that made him such a high pick (and will be how he makes his mark in the majors).

One has to wonder if the trade to the Twins was a bit of bad luck for him. At the time of the trade, our organization was fully invested in the HR or bust approach. A trade to an organization that would have continue to focus on his true competitive advantage instead of trying to create another one might have been a better move for him.  Alas, he is where he is now and, thankfully, it appears the Twins (and the league) may be moving in the direction of his true (and differentiated) skill base. 

If Lewis finds himself in CF next year (to make way for Lee and Julien in the infield), Martin very well could end up a super utility role or left field.  If not, it’s not outside the realm of possibility he develops into a more everyday CFer.

Regardless, the prospect of OBA machines with a bit of stolen base prowess Julien, Martin and Lee at the top of the order in ‘24 is exciting. 

 

It’s interesting how the Twins messed around with him trying to squeeze more power out of him. If he would have been allowed to be himself would he be in CF this year instead of MAT? Everyone and there mom realized what he was when he came here. An OBP machine! I’ll take Martin without any HR’s over a guy like Gallo 100 out of 100 times! I’m excited for what next year brings if the Twins clear the way for the young guys.

I think our infatuation with power and whether a guy can play SS should be over. This team by this time next year will probably have 4 SS capable people who are better than Martin. He’s not playing SS. So that’s irrelevant. He’s not playing 2B as that position is even more blocked. If he starts he’s gonna play CF or LF. He’s not gonna hit for power and that’s ok cause he’s gonna walk about as much as he strikes out. I see a guy who’s gonna hit .250 and get on base at a .330-350 clip and play solid defense in the OF. He’ll be good on the bases and be a gamer. He’ll make contact with a guy on 2nd or 3rd to move the runner along instead of trying to hit a 5 run homer. I think he’s the exact player we need after this season where everyone fails to put the ball in play. I’m so over the power aspect of prospects and power approach we have. I’m fine to go back to the 00’s twins hitting approach instead of everyone trying to hit dingers every AB.