Davis Martin has been an underdog his entire professional career. A 14th-round pick in 2018 out of Texas Tech University, Martin spent several seasons grinding in the minors before getting his chance at the bigs. After a successful 2022 rookie campaign and injury-derailed 2023, Martin is back and looks better than ever. His reemergence has been a positive development in a dismal season for the White Sox.
Martin’s rookie year was a big success. He burst onto the scene and pitched quite well. Before his final start of that season, he had an ERA and FIP in the mid-3s, with a respectable WHIP. Unfortunately, it all came tumbling down after that. His final start of 2022 resulted in him giving up nine runs in just 1.2 innings. This significantly inflated his season stats, which was a precursor of bad things to come.
The Tommy John surgery bug hit Martin shortly after the start of the 2023 season. He did not pitch for the White Sox in 2023 and did not return to the majors until late July of this year. He missed a long time, which was a shame considering the strong start to his MLB career. In an alternate world where he never got hurt, Martin could have already cemented himself as a long-term piece in the White Sox starting rotation by now. Injuries prevented that from happening.
Thankfully, Martin recovered from his injury, and the early returns in his 2024 season have been positive. He added a cutter to his repertoire before returning this season, and his fastball has also seemingly gained velocity. Martin’s four-seamer averaged 94.0 MPH on the dot in 2024, but Martin touched 95.9 MPH on that pitch in Oakland this afternoon, an outing in which he pitched six scoreless innings while generating 11 swings and misses. It is a tiny sample, but he looks like himself again and potentially reinserted himself into the equation moving forward.
Pitching is easily the strength of the White Sox organization as a whole, and the team has a wide variety of intriguing pitchers who are younger and have more upside than Martin. However, many of those pitchers are not in the position to handle full-time starter workloads at the MLB level or are still in the minor leagues. As a result, Martin has the opportunity to show what he can do at the MLB level right now and cement his place on the White Sox pitching staff moving forward.
Davis Martin has never been highly regarded and is still an afterthought to an extent. However, as a 27-year-old under cheap team control for the foreseeable future, Martin could be a fixture on the White Sox pitching staff for years to come in some capacity. He will get every chance to prove his worth during this transitional period for the team. His resilience in overcoming injuries is admirable, and he is worth keeping an eye on moving forward. In a season full of negative storylines, Martin is the opposite.
