When Mason Martin was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, fans thought he was destined to be the first baseman of the future. But after a few years of struggling offensively those hopes were quickly squashed.
For context, Martin has struggled mightily at the plate over his career, especially when it comes to striking out. The worst of it came during the 2022 season with Triple-A Indianapolis. In 134 games, he struck out 35 percent of the time while posting a slash line of .210/.287/.410. While he did post his third highest home run total of his career (19), he complemented that with 194 strikeouts, a career-high.