Prospect Report: Austin Martin Continues Hot Stretch

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — For the first time in a long while, Austin Martin is beginning to feel like himself. In other words, he’s beginning to feel like the player who hit his way to the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft. 

Three straight nights with three or more hits tends to help. Martin’s latest effort came in his Glendale team’s offensive onslaught against Salt River. He went 4-for-6 and was a triple shy of the cycle while driving in five of his team’s 20 runs.

The output, which boosted Martin’s AFL average to an even .500, started on the first pitch of the game, when he socked a 94 mph fastball from Salt River starter Peter Lambert out to left-center field. The ball carried 419 feet and left the bat at 102.5 mph. 

Martin’s hot start in the AFL is a continuation of the later part of his season, after he returned from a wrist injury which led to a roughly six-week stint on the injured list. In the season’s final month, the Vanderbilt alum hit .268/.382/.375 with one home run. 

“I’m really just trying to get back to being myself, honestly. I kind of felt a little off this season,” he said. “I didn’t really feel like myself on the diamond, so it’s really just about getting comfortable … and getting more reps. Really, just trying to hone down on being myself is the most important thing.”

Martin was noticeably aggressive at the plate on Tuesday. He swung at the first seven pitches he saw, including the leadoff home run. Overall, he swung at 12 of the 14 pitches he saw, whiffed just once and did not see a called strike. 

Afterward, he said swinging more often—without losing any of his signature knowledge of the zone—is by design.

“That’s kind of (part) of getting back into myself. I wasn’t as selective, I would say, in college. I always had a good eye, but I was a lot more aggressive at the plate,” he said. “So it’s a matter of just staying within myself and getting back to my approach, and it’s starting to show.”

Andy Pages, OF, Dodgers: Austin Martin wasn’t the only Glendale hitter who had a huge night at the plate. Pages, the Dodgers’ No. 7 prospect, had a night to remember as well. The cannon-armed Cuban went 4-for-6 with two home runs and a walk in the Desert Dogs’ rout of the Rafters. The homers were Pages’ first longballs of the Fall League, and left the bat at 105.6 and 107.5 mph, respectively. Neither of those was Pages’ best bolt of the evening, however. That distinction went to a single at 108.8 mph. 

 

Zavier Warren, 1B, Brewers: Warren was the third Glendale batter to rack up four hits on Tuesday night. All four of his hits were singles to right field, and three of the four created exit velocities greater than 106 mph. The effort pushed Warren’s early AFL batting average to .476. The 23-year-old Central Michigan alum reached Double-A this season and hit 29 doubles and 12 home runs en route to an OPS of .681. 

Mason Miller, RHP, Athletics: Oakland’s third-rounder from the 2021 draft made his second AFL start on Tuesday and showed off electric stuff. He used a lively fastball that sat in the upper 90s and touched triple digits multiple times, including a peak of 102 mph to strike out two hitters in three one-run innings without a walk. He threw 31 of his 42 pitches for strikes and got six swings and misses. Miller paired the fastball primarily with a filthy slider in the mid 80s that showed wipeout potential at its best.  

 

Mason Auer, OF, Rays: Though he collected just one hit—an RBI double—Auer deserves praise for his standout defense in center field. The 2021 fifth-rounder out of San Jacinto (Texas) JC made tremendous plays to both sides during Mesa’s loss to Surprise. He and Phillies prospect Johan Rojas have shown highlight reel-caliber plays on a near-nightly basis over the first week and change in the desert, providing a welcome treat in what is normally a highly offensive league. Auer’s top play Tuesday was a long run deep into the right-center field gap to haul in an extra-base bid from Pirates prospect Henry Davis. That he got there at all is one thing, but that he got there without so much as a dive took an incredible jump, route and blazing speed all working in concert. 

 

ORG CLASS PLAYER AB R H RBI AVG NOTES
ARI WIN Deyvison De Los Santos, 3B 4 0 1 2 0.188 BB (3),
ATL WIN Justyn-Henry Malloy, 1B 4 1 1 0 0.368 2B (3),
ATL WIN Cal Conley, SS 2 1 1 1 0.273 2 BB (4), SB (3),
BAL WIN Reed Trimble, OF 4 0 1 0 0.300  
BAL WIN Heston Kjerstad, OF 5 2 2 2 0.344 2B (3), HR (2),
BOS WIN Stephen Scott, 3B 4 0 1 1 0.353  
BOS WIN Nick Yorke, IF 3 2 1 1 0.308 BB (6),
CHC WIN Owen Caissie, OF 4 0 1 0 0.176 SB (1),
CHC WIN Matt Mervis, 1B 3 0 0 0 0.133 BB (2),
CIN WIN Rece Hinds, SS 7 0 2 1 0.250  
CLE WIN Angel Martinez, IF 5 1 1 2 0.208  
COL WIN Braxton Fulford, C 2 0 0 0 0.111  
CWS WIN Adam Hackenberg, C 4 3 2 1 0.267 BB (4),
DET WIN Parker Meadows, CF 5 1 2 0 0.208 E (1),
DET WIN Colt Keith, 3B 3 1 0 1 0.357 BB (6),
DET WIN Gage Workman, SS 4 0 0 0 0.000  
HOU WIN Will Wagner, 2B 3 0 2 1 0.455 2 2B (5), BB (4),
KC WIN Tyler Gentry, OF 4 1 1 0 0.150 2B (1),
KC WIN John Rave, OF 3 1 1 1 0.333 HR (1), BB (4),
LAA WIN Werner Blakely, SS 4 0 0 0 0.118  
LAD WIN Andy Pages, OF 6 5 4 2 0.333 2 HR (2), BB (3),
LAD WIN Jose Ramos, CF 6 2 3 4 0.500 2B (1), BB (1),
MIA WIN Jose Salas, SS 3 0 0 0 0.200 BB (2), SB (1),
MIL WIN Zavier Warren, C 6 3 4 2 0.476  
MIL WIN Tyler Black, 2B 7 1 1 1 0.231  
MIN WIN Edouard Julien, 2B 3 2 2 0 0.294 3 BB (8),
MIN WIN Austin Martin, SS 6 2 4 5 0.500 2B (2), HR (1),
NYM WIN Brandon McIlwain, OF 4 1 1 0 0.357 BB (1),
NYY WIN Jasson Dominguez, CF 4 0 0 0 0.222  
OAK WIN Lawrence Butler, 1B 3 1 0 0 0.333 BB (5), SB (2),
OAK WIN Zack Gelof, SS 3 0 0 0 0.227 BB (4),
PHI WIN Carlos De La Cruz, OF 3 1 2 1 0.444  
PIT WIN Jacob Gonzalez, 3B 3 0 0 0 0.000  
PIT WIN Henry Davis, C 4 0 0 0 0.214  
PIT WIN Nick Gonzales, 2B 4 0 0 0 0.333 E (2),
SD WIN Jackson Merrill, SS 4 1 2 1 0.393  
SEA WIN Robert Perez, 1B 4 1 1 1 0.182 BB (4),
SEA WIN Jose Caballero, SS 5 2 3 3 0.455 2B (2), CS (1),
SF WIN Luis Matos, OF 4 0 1 1 0.276 CS (1),
SF WIN Logan Wyatt, 1B 3 0 1 0 0.286 2B (1), BB (7),
STL WIN Masyn Winn, SS 1 1 0 0 0.267 4 BB (8), SB (1),
STL WIN Mike Antico, LF 3 0 1 0 0.091 BB (1),
TB WIN Blake Hunt, C 2 1 1 0 0.357 2 BB (3),
TB WIN Mason Auer, OF 5 0 1 1 0.250 2B (2), SB (4), CS (1),
TB WIN Ronny Simon, 2B 2 0 1 1 0.308 2 BB (4), CS (1),
TEX WIN Luisangel Acuna, SS 3 0 1 0 0.280 BB (1), CS (1),
TOR WIN Addison Barger, SS 4 1 0 0 0.263 BB (2),
TOR WIN Zach Britton, RF 3 0 0 1 0.308  
WAS WIN Darren Baker, 2B 4 1 1 0 0.231 BB (3),
WAS WIN Drew Millas, C 4 1 2 1 0.471 BB (1),
ORG CLASS PLAYER IP H R ER BB K ERA NOTES
ATL WIN Alex Segal, LHP 0.1 1 2 2 3 1 9.00  
BAL WIN Noah Denoyer, RHP 4.0 7 7 7 1 3 10.80 L (0-1)
BOS WIN Aaron Perry, RHP 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 15.00  
CHC WIN Zac Leigh, RHP 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 4.91  
CIN WIN Christian Roa, RHP 3.0 2 0 0 2 3 13.50 W (1-0)
CIN WIN Vincent Timpanelli, RHP 1.2 1 4 4 4 1 17.18  
CLE WIN Mason Hickman, RHP 1.1 3 3 3 2 4 8.31  
COL WIN Stephen Jones, RHP 1.1 3 1 1 1 1 12.46  
DET WIN Jack Anderson, RHP 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 3.00  
HOU WIN Matt Ruppenthal, RHP 1.0 1 1 1 3 1 3.00  
KC WIN Christian Chamberlain, LHP 2.0 1 0 0 1 2 0.00  
KC WIN T.J. Sikkema, LHP 4.0 2 1 1 2 3 3.86 W (1-0)
KC WIN Walter Pennington, LHP 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00  
MIL WIN Ryan Middendorf, RHP 2.0 1 0 0 1 5 3.86  
MIN WIN Denny Bentley, LHP 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 4.15  
MIN WIN Francis Peguero, RHP 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0.00  
NYM WIN Josh Walker, LHP 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 6.00  
NYY WIN Leam Mendez, RHP 2.0 3 2 2 2 0 5.06 L (0-2)
NYY WIN Nelson Alvarez, RHP 2.0 1 0 0 2 2 14.73  
OAK WIN Mason Miller, RHP 3.0 3 1 1 0 2 7.71  
SF WIN Spencer Bivens, RHP 2.0 0 0 0 0 4 0.00  
SF WIN Hunter Dula, RHP 1.2 3 1 1 1 2 4.91  
STL WIN Tink Hence, RHP 1.0 1 1 1 0 2 4.50  
STL WIN Ryan Loutos, RHP 2.0 4 1 1 1 2 6.00  
TOR WIN Troy Watson, RHP 0.1 4 6 6 1 0 20.77  
TOR WIN Hunter Gregory, RHP 0.2 3 6 6 3 1 42.43  
WAS WIN Orlando Ribalta, RHP 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0.00  

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