When I turn on an Arkansas Razorbacks baseball game, I’m doing so to watch Casey Martin.
He’s one of my favorite players in college baseball — if not my favorite — and I can’t wait to see what he does in his junior year.
In 2018 he burst onto the scene hitting .345/.418 with 50 runs scored, 14 doubles, 13 home runs, and 49 RBI in 67 games.
The averages took a hit in 2019 at .287/.369, but he still had all the counting numbers with 61 runs scored, 19 doubles, 15 home runs, and 53 RBI.
Anytime you see somebody of this size (5-foot-11, 175) pounds and wearing the number 15, you can’t help but compare him to Dustin Pedroia.
But Martin’s swing is a much more powerful swing and one that has a lot of swing-and-miss in it. That’s the one thing I’d like to see him improve on as a junior is his plate discipline and the ability to cut down on his swing when behind in the count.
But there is no question — at least in my mind — that he’s going to be a very good power-hitting infielder at the next level. And he has the arm strength and range to stick on the left side of the infield.
