Mason Martin’s Power is Just a Step Away From Pittsburgh

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – When looking at Mason Martin’s game, strength and pure power are the first obvious things that come to mind.

Martin stands at 6-foot-even, and 220 pounds. Fitting his frame is the organized, violent power that his swing brings to the table. At the dish, Martin knows his value to the team, and that is hitting the ball hard.

In his first 10 games of the 2022 campaign with Indianapolis, Martin has fit just that role, with 10 extra base hits. Of those, he has five doubles, three triples, and a pair of home runs.

In his professional career, Martin has 92 doubles and 87 home runs in 1,455 at bats. This includes 35 homers in 2019 and 25 more last season. When it comes to a power show, Martin gets excited showcasing his abilities.

“[Hitting a home run] is the best feeling in baseball,” Martin said. “Obviously, it is the most important play in baseball. It is something that I like to pride myself on. It feels great and hopefully I get a few of them [this year].”

Indianapolis manager Miguel Perez knows Martin’s power very well. He also knows what it means to Martin’s game, as well as the rest of the lineup that he is slotted into.

“[Martin] brings power to the lineup,” Perez said. “He is the guy that people are going to start trying to go around.”

Strength and power is not developed overnight. It takes hours and hours during the offseason in the gym that next to nobody sees to perform when all of the lights flash and the eyes are on.

For Martin, strength has been ingrained since he was a kid. Martin’s father, Chad, is a world-class body builder. Strength and understanding muscles, the human body, and how the two work together gave Martin an edge from the start.

“I have definitely learned a lot from my dad,” Martin said. “Just getting that experience under my belt when I was super young, with basically all of his tips and tricks being taught to me. It has definitely been a huge advantage.”

Along with his father, Martin’s younger brother Max is following in his footsteps. Recently, Max committed to the University of Oregon. His scouting report, to no surprise at all, also includes elite power.

“I know, me picking on my little brother his whole life probably helped him a lot too,” Martin said. “That is just how we are. We have each other’s backs. We are a family like that.”

In fact, the three Martins all train together during the offseason. Martin admitted that each time he sees his brother, he is bigger than the last.

As for his own personal preparation for the season, Martin said that he realizes how important a solid base is to his swing. He understands that his power comes from his legs first.

“I really think about total body strength, but I think the legs are the most important part with what I do,” Martin said. “Having to play 120 to 162 games, you put a lot of miles on our tires. I definitely start with my legs and that is something that I was always taught since I was a kid. Everything starts from the ground up for me. I do a lot of training in the gym just based on lower body strength and conditioning.”

With this hard work and the payoff from it, Martin is off to a hot start to the 2022 season. If that continues into the next month or two, it will be impossible to hold him back from the heart of the lineup in Pittsburgh.