Twins 'really excited' about top prospect Martin's future

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Austin Martin's elite on-base tool is all-encompassing, even to the point where his 24 hit-by-pitches in 418 plate appearances last season tied for third in all of Minor League Baseball.

Hey, when you're that good at getting on base, you just find a way.

"Being hit by baseballs has just been a part of my game since [before] I could even tell you, to be honest," Martin said. "I’ve just always been a ball magnet. Now that guys are throwing 98-100 mph, I kind of want to start moving out the way and lessening that a little bit, but it is what it is, honestly. A free base."

That natural talent for finding the ball (painfully, at times) led Martin to a .414 on-base percentage in his first season as a professional in 2021, ranking second in the Twins' organization. Not only that, but he skipped over the low Minors altogether and immediately made that impact as an above-average hitter at the Double-A level for both the Blue Jays and Twins.

That contact ability and control of the strike zone have served him well from his time at Vanderbilt to his first year in the pros, but adding the extra-base ability so important to the modern game could take the game of the Twins' No. 2 prospect to the next level, and he's eager to show off the work he did this offseason with the organization's Minor League coaches when the season starts up.

Martin did hit for some over-the-fence power as a sophomore at Vanderbilt, when he clubbed 10 homers and 19 doubles in 65 games, good for a .604 slugging percentage. But he did much less of that as he adapted to pitching in the high Minors in '21, with his slugging percentage (.382) checking in well below his on-base percentage due to him being limited to five homers in 93 games.

And in order to push Martin into his future, they're turning back the clock.

"The thing I’ve loved about being here so far is that what we’ve been working on isn’t anything new," Martin said. "They’ve just been recycling a lot of film of my freshman year at Vanderbilt and my senior year of high school, and just how my body was moving there more freely, more athletically. Really, when they pointed that out to me, it was more just getting back to that."

As farm director Alex Hassan explains it, Martin sometimes gets a little too leaned-over in his swing in search of contact and counter-strides; instead, they want him more upright to help him stride and rotate more athletically. Martin knows he's had that athleticism in his swing in the past; he's not sure why he got away from it. He also knows that he's got that athleticism, and he's confident that the work will be evident once he returns to live action.

The Twins committed to that process by sending new Minor League hitting coordinator Bryce Berg to visit Martin in December before Triple-A Saints hitting coach Ryan Smith followed in early 2022, giving the sides an opportunity to connect more closely, considering Martin was a midseason arrival to the organization in the Trade Deadline deal with the Blue Jays.

Martin spent the offseason working alongside Major League players at agent Scott Boras' facility, and the Twins are eager for an extended look at the prospect who could be a cornerstone building block of their teams of the near future.

"He’s been real receptive to that work," Hassan said. "[We're] really excited about where he’s headed on that front."

As to where Martin will make that impact, the Twins aren't sure yet. He played all over the infield and outfield in his time at Vanderbilt, and Minnesota is currently quite confident in his ability to play the outfield, as he split time almost equally between shortstop and center field last season.

Martin still needs more refinement in the infield, and the Twins are still unsure of his ultimate defensive home, so they plan to have him focus at shortstop early this spring. As far as Martin is concerned, he's moved around so much in his career that he doesn't have a preference as to where he plays, and he values his versatility.

"It's a part of my identity as a baseball player now, and it's a part of my game," Martin said. "And I don't really think it's a negative thing. Is it challenging? Yeah, for sure. It's definitely challenging, but at the same time, I look at it as, not everybody's able to do that. Not everybody's capable of being able to do that. So the fact that I can, it's something that I want to keep in my toolbox."

If he keeps getting on base the way he does, the Twins will be sure to find room for him somewhere.