MLB Draft: SF Giants select SS Walker Martin and LHP Joe Whitman in the 2nd round
The SF Giants made two selections in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft, #52 and #69 overall, and drafted two prospects who are considered to be first-round prospects by plenty. With their first second-round pick (#52 overall), the Giants selected Walker Martin, a shortstop from Eaton High School in Eaton, Colorado. With their final pick on Day 1 of the draft, a compensatory pick they received for Carlos Rodón's departure, they selected left-handed pitcher Joe Whitman out of Kent State.
One of the best overall athletes in the entire draft class, Martin was the starting shortstop for Eaton High School's baseball team as well as the quarterback for the football team. We are not here to talk about his skills on the gridiron though because he has a brighter future as a baseball player.
A standout in last year's Area Code Games, Martin posted video game numbers this year as he led all the high schoolers in the entire nation with 20 home runs with a mind-boggling .633 average and a 28.7% walk rate. Even though he's shown plenty of power this year, Martin's also known for his bat-to-ball ability and his sweet lefty swing that grades out as average or better. With a projectable frame that could potentially give him above-average raw power, Martin has a well-rounded skill set at the batter's box.
The Giants should give him plenty of chances to play at shortstop with the hopes that his impressive athleticism will allow him to stick at the premium position once he matures to his frame. He has average speed, a strong arm, and clean hands, though, so he could end up shifting to third base.
With how talented Martin seems to be, there were a couple of things that seem to be concerning for other teams that the Giants did not mind. The first is Martin's advanced age as a 19.4-year-old high school senior which definitely puts age-driven model teams off. However, we have seen under the helm of Michael Holmes that the Giants do not mind prepsters who are older than their peers like Kyle Harrison and Eric Silva.
Given that the Giants were tied to Martin for quite some time, there seems to have already been an agreement with him in terms of his signing bonus. Martin is expected to exceed the $1.62 million that the 52nd pick is valued at. With him generally ranked in the back of the first round, Martin could potentially sign for around $2.5 million.
In a thin college lefty class, Whitman is considered by many as the best in the class and was getting first-round buzz throughout the draft process. He luckily fell to the Giants' lap with their second pick in the second round.
Whitman transferred from Purdue to Kent State after pitching for just 5.2 innings in his first two seasons for the Boilermakers. He drastically improved this year with a 2.56 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 81 innings for the Golden Flashes and looked dominant in his only start at the Cape Cod League this year throwing five shutout innings with nine strikeouts and just two hits allowed. His start at the Cape generated plenty of buzz.
The left-hander's best pitch is his plus slider he throws around 40% of the time with a sharp, two-plane break that generated plenty of whiffs against both lefties and righties. His fastball sits in the low-90s but can touch 96 mph on occasion and has good action up in the zone from his three-quarters arm slot. He does have a changeup and a cutter that flashed solid that he has not used much in college because of the prolific use of his slider.
In a deeper college lefty class, Whitman might only be considered as a true second-round or even a third-round talent in a special class, a source told Giants Baseball Insider. However, Whitman has a legitimate chance of sticking in a starting rotation if he can continue to incorporate his changeup in his arsenal and stay consistent with his strike-throwing. With the pick value for the 69th overall pick slotted at $1.07 million, Whitman might sign for close or even above slot value given the first-round buzz that he generated before the draft started.
The SF Giants will continue to stockpile more talent out of the draft as the second day of the 2023 MLB Draft commences at 11:00 AM Pacific on Tuesday.
