Rumors of a call-up began rumbling through the Texas Tech Baseball backchannels Monday afternoon and it has been confirmed that Davis Martin will make his MLB debut on Wednesday, May 17 in Game 2 of the White Sox doubleheader in Kansas City against the Royals.
The former Red Raider righthander spent less than two weeks with the AAA Charlotte Knights after his promotion from the AA Birmingham Barons but was impressive in his two starts there posting a 2-0 record and a line of 12IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, 8K, 2BB | ERA: 1.50 | WHIP: 0.75 | Opp. Avg: .171
Davis Martin did what he does. Command his pitches. 6.0 IP of shut out baseball. 55 of 82 for strikes, keeping them off balance with the FB/CH. He spread out 3H’s and 1 BB, and K’d 4. #Knights win 8-4. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/qjl4WvaJd9
— White Sox Daily (@dailywhitesox) May 13, 2022
A 14th-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft by the White Sox, Martin has moved quickly through the system after his rookie season. He spent 2019 with the A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers where he posted a 9-9 record in 27 starts and tossed 144 2/3 innings with 156 strikeouts to 38 walks. From there it was 17 starts with the High-A Winston-Salem Dash and then a quick promotion to Birmingham to finish out 2021 with 6 starts.
Martin was a three-year starter for the Red Raiders from 2016 to 2018 and posted an impressive 21-9 record over that time punctuated by a 2016 record of 10-1 and a 2.52 ERA that year. In a career full of big performances, Martin was exceptional in the College World Series in 2016. As the starting pitcher against Florida, he threw 7 scoreless innings and earned the win with a three-hit outing for the first CWS victory in Texas Tech history.
Martin’s career has been defined by strong command, and that starts with fastball command. Here he describes his pitch mix before his first home start in AAA after starting on the road against the Gwinnett Stripers.
After a brilliant start in Gwinnett, Davis Martin takes the mound tonight in his first home outing. He describes his pitch here.
@FutureSox @whitesox @dailywhitesox @MiLB pic.twitter.com/x8PkxaWMo1
— jeff cohen (@TripleAJeff) May 12, 2022
In a twist of baseball fate, Martin will face the #18 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft Brady Singer. A former ace for the Florida Gators, Singer lost to the Red Raiders in the 2018 College World Series allowing 5 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits against Texas Tech’s DuShetter combo of Dylan Dusek and Ryan Shetter. Martin started the following game against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Singer made his MLB debut for the Royals in July of 2020. He has made 39 starts in the MLB since then spread over 2020 and 2021 and has 5 for the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers. He’s had only 3 appearances and has posted a 6.35 ERA in 2022 for the Royals, he was recalled from Omaha to start this doubleheader game.
Martin is the third Red Raider from the Tadlock era to make it to The Show. RHP Robert Dugger debuted for the Miami Marlins on August 5, 2019, and has since appeared in 25 games combined for the Marlins, Mariners, Rays, and Reds, with the latter two coming in 2022. LHP Parker Mushinski saw his debut come just last month on April 17 for the Houston Astros. He made 5 appearances before moving back down to AAA Sugarland Space Cowboys but is expected to continue to see relief opportunities with the Astros in the future depending on roster size.
