Threshers Spotlight: Kyle Martin

Kyle Martin steps to the plate, focused on his breathing.

Deep breaths. In and out. Keeping it simple.

Baseball is said to be a thinking man's game, but at times the challenge for a hitter lies more so in simply clearing his mind.

"It just kind of limits the thoughts that you can develop in your head," Martin says.

"The less you think, the more focused you can be."

A 6'2", 240-pound natural left-hander, Martin has just begun his first full professional season, having been drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth round in 2015 out of the University of South Carolina.

A Mechanical Engineering major, Martin was twice named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll while at USC.

"My dad is a mechanical engineer, he's in sales right now, but just growing up with him we always did puzzles, always did math equations," Martin says.

"So I just kind of fell into it. I really love the subject, really love everything that goes into it."

While playing for one of the most competitive collegiate baseball conferences in the nation in the SEC, Martin did not shirk from the challenge of a difficult major.

"It was extremely tough," he says.

"It was a rough four years, lot of sleepless nights, lot of long nights, but what really helped me was just kind of picking a group of friends and sticking with them. We all had the same classes together, all took the same exams and everything, so having them by my side really helped.

"Just tried to get as much sleep as I could in between everything. Not much of a huge social life, just kind of in classrooms or on the field pretty much all the time."

Martin is just a few classes short of completion, and already has plans in place to return to his studies and finish his degree this coming fall.

On the diamond, Martin emerged as South Carolina's everyday first baseman as a junior in 2014, and led the Gamecocks with a .336 average. The Los Angeles Angels took notice, selecting Martin in the 20th round of the June MLB Draft.

That posed a tough decision for the then-21 year old - forgo his senior year to sign with the Angels, or return to school in hopes of increasing his draft stock.

"Deciding to go back to school was really tough," Martin says. "Either that, or follow your dream, continue on playing professional baseball.

"Going back to school was definitely the better decision."

That season, Martin had hit five home runs - at the time a career-high.

"That was one of the big things I wanted to go back for was to show that I could hit for more power," Martin says.

Increasing his extra-base total was something he and South Carolina assistant coach and former Major Leaguer Brian Buscher zeroed in on during his senior season. "Picking pitches," Martin says. "My pitch, you know, hunting the fastball."

Martin accomplished exactly what he set out to do.

His home run total nearly tripled during his senior year, as he belted 14 long balls to go along with 12 doubles. He hit .350 to rank eighth in the conference, had the second-highest slugging percentage at .635, and was third in on-base percentage at .455.

The Philadelphia Phillies chose the first baseman in the fourth round last summer, and Martin did not miss a beat as he debuted in Low-A with the Lakewood Blue Claws. He batted .279 with five home runs in his first 65 professional games.

"Playing in the SEC, they compare it to High-A baseball here, Double-A baseball sometimes, depending on who you're playing at the time," Martin says. "The competition level was awesome. I think that's what helped me really prepare for Minor League baseball.

Following the season, Martin continued on to play for Team USA in the inaugural World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 World Championship.

The US squad, which consisted of 28 players not currently on MLB 40-man rosters, traveled to Taipei, Taiwan on November 4th to begin tournament play, and played their way into the championship round in Tokyo, Japan. Team USA finished as the runner-up with South Korea crowned the champions.

Fellow Thresher Joey DeNato, current Reading Fightin Phil Anthony Vasquez, and former Phillies farmhands Cody Forsythe and Tyler Pastornicky were among those who joined Martin on the USA team.

"It was a great experience," Martin says. "Unbelievable experience to be able to play overseas like that with a great group of guys.

"We had a chance to go to Tokyo, play in their big dome over there, so it was wonderful. I would love to do it again in the future if possible."

Upon return to the States, Martin spent an abbreviated offseason in South Carolina before making the quick leap up to High-A Clearwater.

Now 23, Martin made a splash in his first week in a Threshers uniform by homering in three consecutive games, from April 9th to April 11th.

His primary goal for this season is achieving consistency as he works to improve the mental game.

"I mean, this game is just pure mental," Martin says. "If you don't have that, it's going to be tough to succeed."