BRADENTON, Fla. – It’s a perfect match.
The Pittsburgh Pirates need a long-term first baseman.
They have power hitting left-handed first baseman Mason Martin set for Triple-A in 2022. The MLB option, Yoshi Tsutsugo, is on a one-year deal.
The only problem?
Martin hits for power — with 60 home runs across four levels over his last two seasons — but also strikes out a lot. His strikeout rate from Low-A to Triple-A, in order, in the last two seasons: 29%, 32.3%, 34.2%, 37.0%.
His strikeouts went up with every level increase, with Triple-A only seeing 27 plate appearances. His walks also went down at the same levels: 13.0%, 10.9%, 8.1%, and 3.7%.
Martin has the power to crush a fastball into the Allegheny River. He doesn’t yet have the plate patience to stick in the majors as a long-term option. It’s very unlikely that he takes his .242/.318/.481 line from Altoona into the majors without serious decline in those numbers. If he could make that jump with zero drop in production, he could end up an average starter. Historically, it’s extremely rare for that outcome from a three-true-outcomes hitter with such a high strikeout rate in the minors.
The ideal situation would be that Martin learns how to not be a three-true-outcomes hitter.
#Pirates first base prospect Mason Martin hit 22 homers with a .799 OPS last year with Double-A Altoona. He went up to Triple-A Indianapolis for 25 ABs and hit 3 more homers with an .896 OPS. pic.twitter.com/8QK0Uc07lE
— Tim Williams (@TimWilliamsP2) March 3, 2022
Martin has been taking some new approaches to work on his two strike approach and his mental approach, after having extensive conversations with some of the Pirates hitting coordinators and coaches.
“That’s obviously something I want to be better at this year, is always being a tough out,” said Martin. “That’s something I’m going to really pride myself on, because I trust my ability in any count, and I trust my hands with two strikes, and I trust what my eyes see.”
Martin has also been working on his side-to-side work, working with more agility. He has the defense to stick at first, but has the fallback of the newly expected Designated Hitter role in the National League. In either case, Martin is a bat-first prospect whose power would be negated by a lack of contact otherwise.
The Pirates have been using occlusion goggles, which they debuted at their “Get Better At Baseball” camp, working to block out a hitter’s vision and force them to rely more on their instincts. Martin has become a big fan, taking a pair home over the offseason, and using them in camp this week, as shown here by new Pirates MLB.com writer Justice delos Santos:
Mason Martin getting in some swings with the occlusion goggles pic.twitter.com/94xLNkL7VL
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) March 1, 2022
“There’s no thinking involved,” said Martin of the goggles. “You’re just getting that feel for seeing the ball for a lesser amount of time.”
Martin has been looking to cover the whole plate for fastballs, increase his hard contact zone, and be able to adjust to offspeed pitches. The Pirates have been using a new drill with multiple pitching machines, giving hitters looks at different speeds and different angles. That has been a key drill for Martin toward his hitting goals.
From Monday, here's Mason Martin taking batting practice off the alternating pitching machines. The close one is set to fastballs. The far one is set to spin for offspeed. The #Pirates are using this as an implicit training environment to better stimulate game action. pic.twitter.com/4rOu6zdLC7
— Tim Williams (@TimWilliamsP2) February 24, 2022
“That drill specifically right there, both machines I’m trying to take the same timing,” said Martin. “I’m trying to time myself up for the close machine right there, and when it stays on the back machine, I stay on that timing, and when I see and recognize that’s obviously an off-speed pitch, I just try to hold myself back and hold my backside and be able to let that pitch get there before I pull the trigger.”
Martin said the same approach applies to the game.
“If I’m sitting on a fastball and he throws me a changeup right over the middle, I don’t want to watch it go by,” said Martin. “I want to be able to hold myself back and make that adjustment, still get the barrel on that pitch. I think that’s the growth I’ve made since my year in Altoona and Indianapolis, learning how to just adjust to pitches.
“That’s been a big step for me,” Martin continued. “I wasn’t always that way. I used to look for a certain pitch and go from there, but last year playing in the upper levels, it gives you a little more experience, a little more learning opportunities. I think that’s one thing I’ve learned, is any pitch over the middle, I’m going to try and put a barrel on it.”
One thing I’ve noticed Martin doing during practice this past week has been stepping out of the box between pitches, resetting his batting gloves, taking a deep, loud breath, and stepping back in. This can be seen in the Jerad Eickhoff video below.
The #Pirates signed RHP Jerad Eickhoff to a minor league deal over the offseason. He had a 4.86 ERA and a 79:20 K/BB last year in 79.2 innings as a starter in Triple-A with the Mets. Here he faces Mason Martin, Ji-Hwan Bae, and Eli Wilson. pic.twitter.com/jRAjuwijbg
— Tim Williams (@TimWilliamsP2) March 3, 2022
Martin told me that he started doing this in 2019, after a suggestion from Bernie Holliday, the Pirates Director of Learning and Mental Performance. This acts as a reset, allowing him to clear his mind and prepare for the next pitch.
I’ve written before about Martin’s baseball knowledge, mindset, and his work ethic. The Pirates have him pointed into more unconventional methods to try and solve the one thing that is holding his game back. Those methods:
**Goggles that reduce your visibility and force a quicker reaction time.
**Batting practice drills that simulate live pitching, alternating speeds and angles.
**Taking each at-bat pitch-by-pitch with a focused mindset.
**Learning how to adjust to any pitch, rather than hunt out a specific pitch.
**Learning how to cover the entire zone, rather than pick a specific area.
In a way, it seems like the Pirates are refocusing the way Martin approaches hitting, getting him to be more reactive and relying on his skills, rather than having an overcomplicated focus in the box, which has so far only led to a complicated path to that first base job in Pittsburgh.
