�He�s the best prospect in the entire draft class.� – The Athletic�s Keith Law
The Toronto Blue Jays selected shortstop Austin Martin with the 5th pick in the 2020 MLB draft. Already, fans are hailing this pick as the steal of the draft.
Martin, a 21-year-old out of Vanderbilt University, shockingly fell all the way to No. 5 in the draft.
Third baseman Spencer Torkelson was expectedly taken first overall by the Detroit Tigers. Then, the Baltimore Orioles oddly opted for outfielder Heston Kjerstad second overall. The Miami Marlins then selected pitcher Max Meyer third overall. The Kansas City Royals also opted for a pitcher, taking Asa Lacy fourth overall.�
Selecting 5th overall, who the Blue Jays were going to select was a no brainer.
Mock drafts predicted Martin to go second overall to the Orioles. No one is quite sure why Baltimore didn�t take him.
During his three seasons at Vanderbilt, Martin had an insane .368 batting average. He hit a total of 14 home runs and had an OBP of .474.
Coming into the draft, many experts were calling the 6�0� SS from Vanderbilt the �best hitter in the draft class�.
Martin’s Potential
As you can see by his fourteen home runs over the course of three seasons, Martin doesn�t have a ton of power, but his ability to move all over the diamond makes him an intriguing prospect for Toronto.
With a plethora of young talent already on the Blue Jays� roster in Cavan Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Bo Bichete, among many others, Austin Martin is going to have to be open to the idea of playing multiple different positions if he wants to see meaningful playing time.
Statistics via www.baseballreference.com.�
