Tag: Walker Martin

Walker Martin drafted by San Francisco Giants in second round

Martin has decided to forego his commitment to Arkansas in favor of pursuing his professional career, starting with the Low-A San Jose Giants.

With 100 people at his home in Colorado, Walker Martin watched the MLB Draft and heard his name called as the 52nd overall pick by the San Francisco Giants.

According to sources, the Giants offered a $3 million signing bonus to the shortstop, exceeding the expected slot value of $1,620,800 for the No. 52 pick.

Martin has decided to forego his commitment to Arkansas in favor of pursuing his professional career,  and he will most likely begin with the Low-A San Jose Giants.

The $3 million bonus offered to him aligns more closely with the typical value given to picks in the latter stages of the first round.

“I went through all the emotions,” Martin said. “At the beginning, I thought I was going to go first round, but it didn’t work out that way. But the Giants came back with some good money, and it’s going to be a good fit. I’m more than happy to be with the Giants. They’re a good organization that’s going to develop me well.”

This year, Martin led all classes in every state with 20 home runs, while also leading the Easton Reds to a perfect 29-0 season and securing their third consecutive Class 3A state title. With a batting average of .633, an on-base percentage of .722, and a slugging percentage of 1.632, Martin proved invaluable to his team, driving in 75 RBIs throughout the season.

Martin has a goal of reaching the big leagues by 2028.

“In three to five years, I’m going to be in the majors,” Martin said. “I’m confident in myself, and I’m going to work hard to get there.”

Dave Van Horn won’t complain about the MLB Draft anymore

The MLB Draft delays the roster building process but Dave Van Horn won’t complain about it.

The College Baseball season has come to an end with rival LSU taking home their seventh College World Series title.

Now it’s time to think about the summer off-season and for Van Horn that means dealing with the MLB Draft. 

The gift and the curse of having a good team in college athletics is the professional leagues are going to come for your best players. Overall, the Hogs has four player on the roster that are top 200 prospects, Bohrofen (No. 61), Hollan (No. 83), Wiggins (No. 99) and Josenberger (No. 114)

Van Horn isn’t a fan of the MLB draft process because it leaves him trying to figure which of his players are going to play professional baseball or come to college.

The MLB is scheduled for July 9. Last year, Van Horn called out the owners calling the draft a “joke” for having it during All-Star Weekend. This year he is taking a different approach.

“I’m done complaining about it and I think every division one coach talked about it until we’re blue in the face,” Van Horn said about dealing with the timetable of the MLB Draft. “The draft should have been two weeks ago, or at the very latest, maybe now, so at least we can move on.”

The Hogs have the top recruiting class this year, but 10 players are in the MLB’s top 200 prospects, half in the top 100.

Van Horn and the rest of his staff (like other college coaches) must figure out how to manage the roster and if they should hit the portal sooner than later.

“We don’t know whats going on with Aiden Miller or Walker Martin. I can on and on. We are talking to them to try to figure out what kind of money they’re going to demand to sign and what they are really thinking, if they really want to go to school. You’re having all those conversations. [It’s] just what you do.”

Martin said he is still excited to be a Hog but he is still mulling the option of jumping to the big leagues, currently ranked as the no. 12 propect. If Martin does decides to skip the draft and bring his talents to Fayetteville, he is expected to be the starting shortstop with Harold Coll entering the transfer portal.

Van Horn is still confident he will be able to keep some of the guys who are on the MLB’s radar. The Hogs also some good players coming in from the Portal, and returning starters like Kendall Diggs.

Bringing back those MLB prospects would surely make the Diamond Hogs a pre-season CWS favorite but like Van Horn, can’t complain about it.