Austin
Martin

12/03/16- Committed to Vanderbilt University.

10/16/16- Jacksonville recruit. The 6-foot, 175 pound infielder was impressive in both games over the weekend. There is some quick twitch, but overall he is a gamer. He has good footwork and soft hands at short and plenty enough arm and range to stick there. He showed a feel and above average IQ at the position. Offensively, the right handed hitter has a good gap to gap approach with a feel for the barrel. He has above average bat speed and led to a double in left-center field. Very intriguing shortstop prospect.

2/12/16 - Jacksonville commit. 6-foot, 170 pound infielder with a lean loose athletic body on a medium size frame. Very good infield actions with quick soft hands. Very light on his feet with good instincts. Average type range with enough arm. Occasionally gets under the ball and sails on him. Looks like a below average runner. 4.4 to 1B.  Advanced approach at the plate with good hitting instincts. Short quick swing with a knack for finding barrels. Surprising power. Took a 90 mph fastball deep to left field for a HR. Very patient. Doesn’t chase. Has good takes. Very confident in the box. Good baseball player. Went 2-4 with a HR.

10/11/15- Committed to Jacksonville University

DRAFT 2020: Has long been one of the top pure hitters and prospects in college baseball with loads of bat speed, great hand/eye, top-level athleticism and a well-rounded toolset. One initial observation from 2020 opening weekend was the change in his hitting setup when compared to last spring & summer. Martin has always held his bat more vertical (north-south) than flat (east-west), but he set up with a bit more narrow stance, his hands closer to the middle of his chest than his armpit and the barrel tipped even more towards the pitcher. He loaded his hands from the center of his chest back, and then used a leg kick that was not transferring any weight forward or allowing him to walk away from his hands. His stride and separation were not in sync, and his swing played like someone who had shortened up into a two-strike approach. He had far less weight transfer and separation than previous looks. Otherwise, his tools and athleticism were still present with above average running speed, smooth defensive actions and more than enough arm (above average) for the left side of the infield. He has defensive versatility all over the diamond (played center field for the USA CNT last summer and much of this spring) and is likely a plus defender in the future at either second or third base. Overall, Martin is our hitting analytics leader from 2019-2020 combined stats and will likely be one of the top three picks this summer.

2/16/20: One initial observation from opening weekend was the change in his hitting setup when compared to my look last April against Auburn. Martin has always held his bat more vertical (north-south) than flat (east-west), but now he begins with a bit more narrow stance, his hands closer to the middle of his chest than his armpit and the barrel tipped even more towards the pitcher. Most noticeable is the barrel tip towards the pitcher. His stride and separation are not in sync. He loads his hands from the center of his chest back and then uses a leg kick, that is not transferring any weight forward or allowing him to walk away from his hands. His swing is playing like someone who has shortened up and is in his two strike approach. He then loads his hands, stops his barrel and wraps it behind his head. He also has far less weight transfer and separation than last spring. For my taste it is a far less pure swing now. Changes were made to a swing that really didn’t need any adjustments. He has added movement for no real benefit and subtracted weight transfer and separation which typically leads to a loss of power (hey, just my take). Otherwise, his tools and athleticism are still present and obvious with above average speed, smooth defensive actions and more than enough arm (above average) for the left side of the infield. Although he is off to just a fair start offensively to the 2020 season (9-for-27, four doubles, six walks, one strikeout), he’s still a hitting machine who sees the ball really well and has great hand/eye. He no doubt will smooth things out at the plate and maintain his lofty draft status as an early Day One pick. (Seifert)

7/1/19: Martin is one of the premier position prospects for the 2020 draft. He arrived late to the CNT Trials after winning the National Championship with Vandy just a few days earlier. Received two at-bats in the game against Coastal Plain Select; struck out looking and grounded out to SS. Ran a 4.30 down the line. For a prospect report from this past spring, please see College Crosscheck: Week 11. (Seifert)

4/27/19: Martin currently leads our hitting analytics among all 2020/21 draft eligiblesand also leads the Commodores in many offensive categories slashing .406/.486/.601 so far this spring. He showed more raw power in the game than batting practice, hitting hard line drives all over the field during game action. He's a hitting machine who sees the ball really well, has great hand/eye and takes consistent good passes at the plate. On defense he's sure-handed and plays low with quick feet. Showed above average arm strength from the hot corner. Will likely be a plus defender in the future at either second or third base. (Seifert)