Vanderbilt University has a long history of churning out top prospects. Dansby Swanson, Sonny Gray, and David Price all come to mind when talking about the storied program. Austin Martin is next in line when it comes to top prospects and he’s looking to make waves. Martin is currently the second-best prospect, according to MLB.com.
Strengths
Martin is one of, if not the best, all-around players in this year’s draft. He can play middle infield and third base as well as the outfield, if needed. He is a plus fielder and an even better hitter. In 2019, Martin hit .392/.486/.604 with 19 doubles and ten home runs. He also added 40 walks and stole 18 bases in 23 attempts.
On the 20-80 grading scale, he grades out at 65 for hitting, and no lower than 50 anywhere else, earning a 65 overall grade. Even though his 2020 got cut short, he was well on his way to matching his pace of 2019.
Martin also has drawn a very intriguing comparison. The idea has been thrown around that he has an MJ-level competitiveness. Everyone knows Michael Jordan was one of the most competitive guys in all of sports. Being compared to the basketball legend sits well with him too.
“I just love to win,” Martin says. “Well, honestly, I hate losing even more than I love to win.”
Weaknesses
Austin Martin does not have many glaring weaknesses in his game. If one were to nitpick a weakness, it wouldn’t be an easy task. The case can be made that his arm strength and fielding are his weakest tools. His fielding is graded at 50, which is above the MLB average, but still not elite. As was stated before, Martin is the best all-around player in this year’s draft.
MLB Comparison
It is hard to find a comparison for Martin, but the first player that comes to mind is Christian Yelich. Yelich has always had good speed and hits a lot of doubles and shows the ability to get on base and steal 20-25 bases a year as well. Yelich has only now started to find his power stroke at the plate, and is a very good gap to gap hitter. Another comparison that comes to mind is Starling Marte, a guy who hits for average with a lot of doubles but also can steal bases very well.
Getting on base is a valuable trait in baseball these days and Martin does that well. Yelich and Marte have also shown that ability throughout their career, but also have learned to punish bad pitches. Both players are among the best outfielders in the league in fielding and at the plate, and Martin has shown the ability to be one of those guys. He will have to hone his craft if he wants to be like these players though, as their breakouts didn’t come overnight.
Austin Martin is a can’t-miss prospect. He hails from a storied program and has all the tools to become a really good, if not a great, MLB player. Whichever team decides to draft him will be getting a franchise centerpiece to build around for years to come.
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