Tri-Cities’ Own Mason Martin Joining Dust Devils
The Los Angeles Angels announced Wednesday that Kennewick native Mason Martin has been assigned to the Tri-City Dust Devils roster, making him the first position player from the Tri-Cities to play for the Dust Devils. Martin, selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round (508th overall) of the 2017
The Los Angeles Angels announced Wednesday that Kennewick native Mason Martin has been assigned to the Tri-City Dust Devils roster, making him the first position player from the Tri-Cities to play for the Dust Devils.
Martin, selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round (508th overall) of the 2017 MLB Draft, signed with the Angels as a minor league free agent over the weekend after it looked as though he would begin 2024 as a member of the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
The left-hand hitting infielder spent his entire pro career in the Pirates up to now, playing at every level in their system and smashing 122 home runs and driving in 418 runs in his time in the Pittsburgh organization.
Before going pro Martin prepped at Southridge High School, where he hit .507 with five home runs and 30 RBI for the Suns as a first-team selection in the Mid-Columbia Conference. Martin also scored 35 runs in his senior year, from which he was set to play collegiately at Gonzaga University before signing with the Pirates.
Baseball runs in the family for Martin. His grandfather Neil played four years of minor league baseball including, as an Angels farmhand, a year as a member of the 1962 Tri-City Braves. The team, which played out of Sanders-Jacobs Field in Kennewick, won the regular season title that year. Mason’s father, Chad, played in college at both Lower Columbia College and Texas State University, and his younger brother Max joined the professional ranks last year after the Texas Rangers drafted him in the 11th round (321st overall) of the 2023 MLB Draft.
Tickets to see Martin and the Dust Devils take on the Everett AquaSox in this week’s six-game series are on sale now, with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit the team’s official ticketing site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.
CORRECTION: Martin is the second Tri-Cities area player to wear the Dust Devils uniform, and first position player. Pitcher Anthony Bryant, a Kennewick native who played for Kennewick High and went on to pitch collegiately at Oregon State, spent portions of the 2013 and 2014 seasons with Tri-City. Apologies to Mr. Bryant for missing him in my initial research. - Doug Taylor