Austin Martin

Christopher Austin Martin (born March 23, 1999) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Minnesota Twins organization. He played college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Amateur career Martin attended Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2014, he was selected 15U United States national baseball team. Martin was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 37th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and instead attended Vanderbilt University where he played college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores. As a freshman in 2018, Martin started 58 games at six different positions. He hit .338/.452/.414 with one home run, 19 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases. He played mostly third base his sophomore year in 2019. In 65 games, he hit .410/.503/.619 with eight home runs and 42 runs batted in, and helped lead Vanderbilt to victory in the 2019 College World Series against the Michigan Wolverines. His .410 average led the Southeastern Conference. After the season, he played for the United States collegiate national team. Before the suspension of his junior season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin had appeared in 16 games and hit .377 with three home runs and 11 runs batted in. Professional career Toronto Blue Jays Martin was considered by MLB.com to be the "best pure hitter" and a top prospect in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, projecting as a top three with potential to be drafted first overall. He was selected fifth overall by the Toronto Blue Jays and was announced as a shortstop. He received a $7 million signing bonus.