TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays selected Austin Martin of Vanderbilt University with the No. 5 pick at the Major League Baseball amateur draft on Wednesday.
The versatile Martin, who was announced at the draft as a shortstop, has spent time at various positions including centrefield while at Vanderbilt, with some scouts calling him the best pure hitter at the draft.
Martin fell to Toronto as he was No. 2 on the MLB Prospect Rankings list.
Martin was originally taken by the Cleveland Indians as a 37th-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. But instead of joining the Indians out of Trinity Christian Academy in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla.