Every player selected in the MLB draft has impressive statistics. But the Giants' second-round pick had a senior season of high school that looks better fit for a video game.
With the 52nd overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, the Giants selected Walker Martin, a high school shortstop from Colorado who was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year. Even accounting for the high altitude, Martin's senior season stood out. In 29 games, the left-handed hitter clobbered 20 homers, drove in 75 runs, batted .633 and posted a 1.632 slugging percentage.
MLB Pipeline ranked Martin as the 30th best player in the draft, making this reminiscent of last year's haul. The Giants considered Carson Whisenhunt with their first-round pick last year and ended up getting him a round later. This time around, they took two-way prep star Bryce Eldridge in the first round and still ended up with another player they had considered for their first pick.
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Martin had to wait longer than he hoped, but he became the first Colorado high schooler to go in the first three rounds since 1997, and according to the Denver Post, he agreed to a deal worth well over the slot value of the pick after dropping out of the first round. The Giants had tremendous success using a similar strategy with Kyle Harrison in 2020.
Martin was the second pick of the night for the Giants, who will also pick at No. 69. That's a compensation pick for losing Carlos Rodón to the New York Yankees in the offseason.