The MLB Draft continued on Monday as the All Star Break begins in Los Angeles. The Rays selected Xavier Isaac with their first rounder, followed by Stanford’s Brock Jones, and in the third round, the Rays went with Trevor Martin from Oklahoma State.
Martin went with his home school as he’s an Asher, Oklahoma native and lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan, which, of course, is about to change as he’s become a part of the Rays family. In high school, Martin was an all-state performer with a 6-3 record and 1.72 ERA in his senior season. He posted 120 strikeouts in both his junior and senior season.
In his first and likely lone season at Oklahoma State, Martin was on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. He made 22 game appearances, the third most within pitchers. 20 of those appearances are in closing or relief, while two are in starts, in which he was 2-0. He also record 13 ⅓ innings of in division, Big 12 play, where he recorded 21 strikeouts.
Martin saved his best outing for last, when he struck out 16 in 6 ⅔ innings of relief against Missouri State in a 12-0 deficit.
Scouts say it’s difficult to figure out Martin, as his fastball and secondary pitches’ velocity fluctuates. He averaged 94 MPH on his four-seam fastball with high spin rates. Scouts also claim he relies heavily on his heater, which could be problematic in the big leagues. Martin, despite being a rising sophomore, is 21 years old, and is “more about potential than present.”