Getting to Know Astros/Hooks RHP Corbin Martin

FanGraphs recently updated their Top 10 Astros Prospects list with Hooks RHP Corbin Martin climbing the rankings to #4 in the system from a pre-season ranking of #8. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been following Martin's success in 2018. After skipping Low A Quad Cities to start the season with High A Buies Creek, Martin was promoted to AA Corpus Christi after only four appearances at the lower level. Since arriving at AA, Martin is 6-1 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.086 WHIP with 16 walks to 46 strikeouts in 58 innings. For the season, he has a 1.99 ERA and a 0.961 WHIP in 77 innings.

Corbin Martin - July 2018

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Drew French, the Pitching Coach for Buies Creek, was effusive in his praise for Martin, "He was the John Wayne of our staff when in Buies Creek. His mentality and ability to compete pitch in and pitch out really stood out. He has three plus off-speed pitches that he can throw to either bat side. The curveball was really improving during the short time he was here, being able to land it in zone and expand with two strikes. His changeup is a great weak contact pitch that he can locate down and started to become a two-strike weapon before his promotion. His slider is a wipeout pitch that got a ton of swing and miss. He started getting more comfortable hitting with it early in the count and then going to a better location with two strikes. He has options for sure when it comes to his offspeed. It is no surprise that he is continuing to put his game together and flourishing in AA."

When I sat down with Martin earlier this month, my first question was regarding his offspeed since the various prospect pundits were all over the map regarding his pitch arsenal. Martin explained to me that, on any given day, either his slider or his curveball (and sometimes even his changeup) could look to be his best offering. "It could be either one, whatever I feel comfortable with. There's some days where you don't have the same feeling for (a pitch that) you did before and you've just got to work with that and learn from it. Yesterday, my curveball/changeup were working better than my slider so I was throwing those more often. But I've just got to pitch off the fastball and that's something that the Astros have taught me and I've been able to command it really well," said Martin.

Martin's fastball sits around 94-95, occasionally touching 96, but he is less focused on his velocity than he is on his efficiency. "Throwing hard is fun and all. It's cool. But at the same time, when you're not throwing strikes, it's not cool. I think toning it down and being more efficient with it -- I like that way better and I'm very comfortable with what I'm throwing at. As I develop, hopefully one day I'm throwing harder and still locating. That's a goal of mine, but we'll see. I feel like I'm doing the right things right now and they're not ever going to tell me (to throw harder). That's not what they're about in this system. I think I'm in the very perfect system."

And that philosophy reflects upon something that the pundits did agree on coming into the 2018 season, that good fastball command would be the key to Martin's continued development. That is an area in which he has made very good strides so far this season. Of that success, Martin said, "Yeah, I feel comfortable. They made my windup a lot easier and they continuously look at things that I can get better on from my delivery and I think that's just making it simple. That's been the biggest key in being confident in my stuff. Just go out there and act like you're better than every guy you're about to face because they're trying to get to the same place you are. It's like going to war. Every pitch you've got to be focused on. And that's one thing in college I kind of got away from. As I matured into baseball, I think that's been the biggest key has been focusing on that pitch at that time."

As to his current focus, Martin said, "I'm working on everything. I'm never content. I always want to be better. Ever since I've been in the system, they've done a really good job of pretty much making me into a better player all around. They've done a really good job of developing me. I'm really grateful for the things that they've taught me. I'm never going to be content with how I'm doing today because I always want to get better for tomorrow. I've been throwing well, but I could always throw better."

Martin continued, "Just (working on) being efficient with all my pitches. Being consistent with them. Not just flashing it one time and then not having it the next. I think that's one thing that I've really been working on. I've gotten better, I feel, every time of being able to throw them consistently at the shapes I want them to be at. I've been getting a lot of ground balls which is good. I've been locating my offspeed to where I want it to be and throwing each pitch for a strike. I think just attacking the zone and throwing efficient strikes."

Corpus Christi Pitching Coach Bill Murphy appreciates Martin's progress, "Corbin has been a pleasure to work with this year. Its been exciting to watch his development from last year to this year. He's just working on consistency of his curveball and slider with his daily work. He has taken some great strides in this area throughout the season. He's a great human being who I look forward to seeing continued growth from."

Martin was born near Hempstead, just northwest of Houston and grew up an Astros fan so the 2017 postseason was very special for him. "I was 10 years old in 2005 when we lost to the White Sox. We got demolished by the White Sox. But still it was cool to see. But growing up and going to games with my aunt and my grandma, I always told them one day I want to play here. Luckily in high school I got to play (at Minute Maid Park) a couple of times. In college, I got to play there a couple of times. And then we go to Game 5 (of the World Series) last year and I took my girlfriend. It was her first game. And I told her that you're never going to want to go to another game because you won't ever see a game like this again. It was a blast and I was lucky enough to go there and watch that. And just knowing I was a part of their system too was a cool feeling. When they pulled it off in Game 7, our household was going crazy. It was fun. We waited a long time for that and a lot of people have waited a lot longer than I have. It was really cool. Like I said, just knowing I was a part of the system and hopefully one day I get to do the same thing they're doing is a good feeling."

The success of the major league club and the depth of the Astros system instills a healthy sense of competition that Martin appreciates, "They're pushing you to get better too. It's nice to be around a bunch of guys who are really good at baseball. You come out and you're playing with guys just as good or better than you so that makes you want to be better. In our system, you just see it up and down the levels that you pitch and then some guy coming behind you is throwing harder than you and being more efficient and you're like, OK, what do I have to do to be that good? I think that's a big key in this system and something that's going to help me as I move along."

"Our front office is fantastic. They do a really good job. They give everyone the same opportunities. I like being in a system like that. They're not afraid to make moves. It comes with minor league baseball. You never know if you're going to be moving up the next day or be traded. You don't really have to worry about that. You just focus on what's going on right now, on getting better for this system and hopefully move up. That's something that I've had my mind on, just getting better every day. I'm never going to be content with how good I am. If that day ever comes, then I think it's time to quit. I've had a really fun year already, looking forward to the rest of it," said Martin.

Martin also enjoys the camaraderie of being in a great system with great teammates, "Personality is a big thing in baseball. You're never going to find the same two guys. I think that's the coolest thing. If you hang around our whole team for a day, you're never going to get the same thing. It's cool. There's always something different. There's always something to talk about too. And we're always teaching each other stuff like what do you do in this situation. I think that makes for a better team, a better system too. Guys aren't scared to help each other out. Even though we're competing against each other, at the end of the day we're still good friends and we all know we're going to move on and go separate ways, but it's cool to enjoy coming to the ballpark and being around those guys."

Although I asked Martin about his intangibles early in the interview, I'm saving that for last because I think it speaks volumes about his personality. "I feel like when I'm on the mound, I'm really chill and effortless. I think that's what helped me is just being simple out there and not trying to do too much. I think it helps me too, especially now that it's so simple that I don't have to think about too much in the delivery. I have a really good mentality out there I feel like. If someone gets an infield single or something I'm not getting frustrated at it because it's going to happen. Baseball's a funny sport. You can go out there and throw nine innings and next time not even make it out of the first. It's just something mentally you have to be prepared for. You may be perfect once in your life on the mound and that's why it's so rare in baseball to see a perfect game thrown. Mentally baseball is probably one of the toughest sports. You play one day and then you have to turn around and play the next. You've got to wake up in the morning and just get ready to go to work and get better."

Martin comes across as very "chill" off the mound as well. It's as though he has condensed all of baseball into its simplest components and doesn't worry about any of the sideshow distractions. He has simplified his delivery, his focus and his philosophy in a way that belies his relative youth and has embraced the simple elegance of the game.

Thank you for your time, Corbin, and best of luck as the season continues to unfold.