FORT MYERS, Fla. -- For too long, Austin Martin wasn’t even sure what “normal” was supposed to feel like anymore -- but it’d be tough to tell that from watching how he carried himself all spring.

The 24-year-old looked at ease as he undid his long, wavy hair from the tight bun he wears during games, then joked loudly with Byron Buxton. He enjoys those moments more because of the struggles that he pushed through to get to the 40-man roster, almost certain to impact the big leagues this season.

It’s been far from a linear path, involving a sprained UCL in each of his arms and an attempted retool of his swing that didn’t work before he had to learn how to go back to the skillset that had paved the way for him to get this far in pro baseball. But he thinks he’s better for it.

“Reflecting on all of that, I do a lot, actually,” Martin said with a pause. “It hasn't been the smoothest sailing. But I've gotten better. I wouldn't say I've gotten worse.”

The Twins clearly agree. Not only is Martin poised to play a meaningful role on the Major League team at some point this season in a multipositional role around the infield and outfield, but he’s also set to take center stage alongside the Twins’ faces of the future as part of the organization’s Spring Breakout matchup against the Rays’ prospects Saturday.

The No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 MLB Draft, Martin was ranked as high as No. 16 on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 before a move off shortstop and the struggles of 2022 -- when he and the Twins tried unsuccessfully to tweak his swing to add more power -- and the right UCL injury of last season have him ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Twins’ system.

Expectations were sky-high when he came over as one of the headliners of the José Berríos deal in ’21 -- and sometimes, Martin’s mind does wander to that.

“Sometimes, I get caught up in thinking of how it could have been, which I try not to, because it doesn't matter,” Martin said. “The way that it is, is how it's supposed to be, you know? … Reflecting on that and more so just my approach and how I reacted to all the ups and downs of everything, that's what I know is going to be a big tool for me at the next level.”

It probably helps that he does feel like himself again.

It took a while to get back there. He’s been open about how he doesn’t regret trying to make the swing changes, but when he decided to go back to emphasizing the contact-oriented, spray-the-ball, command-the-zone version that excelled at Vanderbilt, there was some worry that he couldn’t fall back into that so easily.

“When you make a swing change like that and you do something you've done your whole life and then you change it drastically, as you try to revert back to that, it starts feeling weird.” Martin said. “It doesn't feel normal anymore. It kind of feels different.”

“I think Austin is a good example of a guy who's trying to figure out who exactly he is, what his identity is, offensively and defensively,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “And that's hard.”

But he did find “normal” again. He had a great stint in the Arizona Fall League after the ‘22 season, and was looking forward to building on it in ’23 when he sustained the right UCL sprain and was sidelined until July. But he worked hard in that time, “crushing it in the weight room,” trying to make the most of a bad situation.

“All that stuff kind of brought me more confidence going into the season, knowing none of the time down here was wasted and I got better,” Martin said.

Once the consistent at-bats came, so did the performance. Martin hit .329/.460/.544 for Triple-A St. Paul in August, finishing the season with a .791 OPS for the Saints. He’s been all over the place this spring -- second base, center field, left field -- ready for an opportunity that could come at one of many spots.

Martin and the Twins are thrilled about the product that has come out the other side.

“Guys like that, you enjoy watching them play,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I, as a manager, enjoy watching him play the game.”