Oakland Athletics Prospect Profile: Shortstop Richie Martin
This week, the Oakland Athletics agreed to terms with their 2015 first round draft pick Richie Martin and invited him to the O.Co Coliseum to meet some of the current A’s. Additionally, he took batting practice and fielded in his normal position – shortstop. He looked great at the plate and in the field, and some spectators even went as far to say that he looks more like a shortstop than Marcus Semien. Semien may be an amazing athlete, but he does not have the natural instincts of a middle infielder like Martin.
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With that being said, let’s learn a little bit more about Martin since it seems as though this prospect has a high chance of being the A’s shortstop in the near future. His skills will certainly only improve while in the minors and Oakland is going to want to bring him up to the majors as quickly as possible. If Martin continues to demonstrate his amazing talents in the MiLB, it would not be surprising to see him in Oakland’s dugout by 2017. The same thing happened to Kendall Graveman who was drafted in 2013 and only spent a full year in the minors before being called up due to his undeniable skills that indicated he would be an ace pitcher in the years to come.
Martin attended the University of Florida where he was known for being a well balanced middle infielder. This 20-year-old has very strong defensive skills, has the potential to be a power hitter in the future, and is an overall great athlete. Martin is extremely dedicated to this craft and will work hard in order to improve his skills.
While with the Florida Gators in 2015, Martin hit .291/.399/.430 with six homers and 36 RBI. When it comes to fielding, he only committed nine errors in 70 games played. Additionally, while with the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod league last year, he batted .364 with a .969 OPS. His bat has grown stronger of the past few years, but Martin also has great speed and strives to get on base anyway possible.
He is not only a good baseball player. Martin is also intelligent and was a Civil Engineering major at Florida. Additionally, he conducted his first press conference on Tuesday with maturity even though he is not even 21 years old yet. Overall, Martin is a well rounded player and person.
Martin began his short-season minor league assignment Wednesday with the Athletics’ Class A affiliate in Vermont. This shortstop is definitely a special prospect. Let’s hope the Oakland Athletics do not end up trading him before he even makes it to the MLB.