San Diego Padres 2020 MLB Draft scouting profile: Austin Martin

What to expect

As I mentioned at the top, this may be the best all-around player in the upcoming 2020 MLB Draft.

He can certainly hit for average as he’s proved in his first two seasons. And the power potential that he showed in his sophomore season really has teams salivating.

I wouldn’t say he’s an elite base stealer, and that may regress even more as he gets bigger, but he has the potential to steal double-digit bags at the Major League level.

He’s also great at putting the ball in play as he’s walked (73) almost as much as he’s struck out (80) in his first two seasons at Vanderbilt.

Martin was the offense in the video shown lifting Vanderbilt to a 3-1 win over Louisville in the College World Series with those two bombs.

He has a pretty sweet stroke from the right side and the slow-motion video on that first home run shows you just how great he is at getting his hands inside the ball.

And he’s still able to drive it for power. On that second home run it looked like the ball got in on him and he was still was able to muscle it out of the ballpark.

The question for Martin is what position will he play?

He’s played on the left side of the infield at Vanderbilt, but some question his arm because of injuries he had in high school.

It sounds like he’ll be at least an average defender wherever he plays. And with how much teams love versatility in today’s game, it won’t hurt that he can play all over the infield.

Where will he be drafted?

This is not someone who will likely be available to the San Diego Padres when they pick at eight.

He would have to suffer a serious injury or hit below .250 for that to even become a remote possibility.

We’ve already seen enough from him at the college level to know what he’s capable of.

Again, the only thing he really needs to work on in his junior season is proving that he can stick on the left side of the infield. And reports indicate he should get a chance to start at shortstop in 2020.

But even if he can’t, with the type of bat he posses you can stick him at second base and be fine.

With the path that Martin is on, and assuming he bulks up a little bit more, we could be looking at .300 hitter at the next level who can also hit 20-plus home runs.

I don’t have a great comp for him off the top of my head, but in terms of average, power, and position he’s very similar to Alec Bohm who was taken third overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2018 MLB Draft.

But Martin adds an element Bohm doesn’t possess with his speed, which makes him even more valuable.

I could see Martin hitting .310/.375 at the big league level one day with 20-25 home runs and 10-15 stolen bases. There may even be the potential for him to be a 20-20 guy someday.

If I were picking first I would certainly take Martin because of all the tools he possesses. And while I really wish the Padres had a shot at him, it just doesn’t seem likely.

My prediction is that he’ll go second overall in the upcoming 2020 MLB Draft to the Baltimore Orioles.