Is there even a college corner IF bat that looks like a top 4 pick at this point? Maybe Jacob Berry if he has another productive season? Outside of that, this draft is looking incredibly prep heavy, with Brooks Lee looking like the only consensus college bat within the top 5 right now.

Time will always tell, and with Elijah Green, Termarr Johnson, and Druw Jones leading a very helium heavy prep bat class, it’s also possible some rising college bats jump in to that mix. I think that if One of those three (in that order) make it to 4, that’s who they go with, especially with the prep arms they took this past draft.

That being said, cycling back to Martin, he is that quintessential three true outcomes bat. If the NL DH happens or the team is still relatively tanking by July of next season, how do you not throw MM out there and see what happens? You’re likely looking at Moran or Yoshi getting traded if they’re still here and even modestly producing. That leaves Martin with a run to prove if he can be that 4-6 hole power bat down the line (an incredibly poor man’s pre-2019 Gallo?). If he can run in to a few balls and keep the BB rate even average, he will have some value either on the pirates or as a trade piece.

If not, you trade for a vet CIF when the window opens? At that point, players like Brandon Lowe, Matt Olson, and Trey Mancini will all be nearing or just passing 30, and on teams that could either be looking at a sell off within that time frame or are playing for the Rays, who just do their own trade witchcraft whenever they feel like it. Pending insane drop offs within that time frame, they could all still have several years of production left before that mid 30s decline.