Who is the 15th-best prospect on the farm?
We’re at the stage in the 2025 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List where all the choices are difficult. And, because of that, all of the results are fairly close. But a winner still emerges each time, and in this chapter it was shortstop Walker Martin, who has been voted as the No. 14 prospect in the San Francisco Giants system.
It’s a tumble of seven spots for the left-handed hitter, who debuted at No. 7 a year ago. And that’s due to having a fairly rough first season as a pro.
Martin was the Giants’ second-round pick in the 2023 draft, and widely viewed as a player who could have been take in the first round following a standout career at Eaton High School. He didn’t debut after getting drafted and, due to an injury, didn’t play in his first game until about two weeks into the 2024 Arizona Complex League season.
He put up some quality numbers in Arizona, finishing with a .795 OPS and a 115 wRC+, but those numbers don’t hold up well under scrutiny. They were propped up largely by an outrageous walk rate (21.2%), which we know is less predictive than other forms of success for lower-level prospects. The power that had been touted with Martin wasn’t entirely absent, but wasn’t fully on display either, as he had six home runs and just 10 total extra-base hits in 189 plate appearances. But most worrisome was Martin’s extreme issues making contact: he sported just a .229 batting average, with an eye-popping 37.9% strikeout rate (for context, that mark would have easily been worst in the Majors among qualified hitters).
Martin went to Low-A San Jose when the ACL season ended, and the results were similar. The contact issues were magnified, as he had just a .202 batting average and a staggering 46.3% strikeout rate. But a lot of walks (17.1% rate) and a little dose of power helped him hit near league average, with a .691 OPS and a 96 wRC+.
He still has all the tools, but there are a lot of obstacles already facing Martin. In addition to the contact problems that he’ll have to figure out, he hasn’t quite looked like someone who was being lauded as one of the best athletes in the draft a year ago. And his career had barely started when evaluators seemed to come to an agreement that he will not be able to play shortstop in the Majors, though the Giants seem likely to give him another year at the position (if for no other reason than a lack of alternatives).
Martin has quickly turned into a high-risk, high-reward prospect, and those players are always fun to keep an eye on. It could be a huge 2025 for him, for better or for worse. He doesn’t turn 21 for a few more months, so he’s got plenty of time to figure things out, and all the tools to do so.
Now let’s move on!
The list so far
- Bryce Eldridge — 1B
- Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
- James Tibbs III — OF
- Rayner Arias — OF
- Josuar de Jesus González — SS
- Jhonny Level — SS
- Mason Black — RHP
- Dakota Jordan — OF
- Joe Whitman — LHP
- Reggie Crawford — LHP
- Bo Davidson — OF
- Aeverson Arteaga — SS
- Wade Meckler — OF
- Walker Martin — SS
Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.
No. 15 prospect nominees
Maui Ahuna — 22.9-year old SS — .636 OPS/84 wRC+ in Low-A (107 PA); 1.063 OPS/158 wRC+ in ACL (42 PA)
Lisbel Diaz — 19.4-year old OF — .767 OPS/103 wRC+ in Low-A (255 PA); .951 OPS/138 wRC+ in ACL (90 PA)
Trevor McDonald — 23.9-year old RHP — 0.00 ERA/3.50 FIP in MLB (3 IP); 4.72 ERA/4.61 FIP in AAA (47.2 IP); 3.21 ERA/3.52 FIP in AA (14 IP); 4.86 ERA/5.75 FIP in High-A (16.2 IP); 3.52 ERA/4.83 FIP in ACL (7.2 IP)
Carson Ragsdale — 26.6-year old RHP — 5.03 ERA/5.64 FIP in AAA (53.2 IP); 3.49 ERA/3.92 FIP in AA (67 IP)
Diego Velasquez — 21.2-year old 2B/SS — .763 OPS/125 wRC+ in AA (170 PA); .746 OPS/112 wRC+ in High-A (318 PA)
Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2024 season.