He was named after Larry Walker, grew up emulating Troy Tulowitzki and morphed into the best player to come out of Colorado’s most storied high school baseball program.
The name to remember is Walker Martin. He’s got the tools and potential to be the state’s next great homegrown baseball star, and if the scouts are correct, Martin will be a major-league household name by the end of the decade.
The country’s most prolific power hitter with 20 homers this year, Martin is likely to be picked high in July’s draft. Every MLB team is interested in the shortstop, who could be the first Colorado high schooler drafted in the first three rounds since Cherry Creek’s Darnell McDonald went No. 26 overall to the Orioles in 1997.
Martin is well aware of those stakes, especially in a state known more for producing pro pitchers than hitters.
“I take a lot of pride in being a Colorado kid,” Martin said. “It’s what keeps me going and it’s that chip that’s always on my shoulder. Being a cold-state kid, not many hitters make it out of a Colorado high school to the big-leagues. That drives me.
“I’m not done yet. I’ve still got to prove my point, and make a statement.”
Martin’s already done plenty of talking with his bat this spring as Eaton’s run the table to a perfect 28-0 record. The Reds are one win from a Class 3A three-peat and adding to their own CHSAA record with a 14th state title in the process. The 3A tournament was supposed to conclude Saturday at Butch Butler Field in Greeley, but rain postponed the championship between Eaton and University to Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
Coming into Saturday, Martin was homering once every 3.85 at-bats. That rate included a nine-game dinger streak which fell one game short of tying the national record, and had area scouts and national cross-checkers flocking to Weld County for the Arkansas commit’s practices and games. That included the Rockies, who have shown serious interest in the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder.
Is Martin as good as McDonald, whom along with John Stearns is largely regarded as one of the two best position players to ever come out of Colorado? Time will tell, but local scout Ed Henderson says “there’s certainly some parallels in terms of the athletic ability.”
“There are going to be some people who say, ‘Well, the level Walker saw at Eaton is not what Darnell saw at Cherry Creek,’” Henderson said. “Well, that’s probably true, but it doesn’t change the dynamic player that (Martin) is… The raw talent is there and we’ve certainly seen that, and I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that he’s going to be an impact guy in the majors.”
Martin’s pure left-handed power — just like the Rockies’ No. 33 — continued to increase Martin’s draft stock despite the fact those numbers came against undermatched 3A pitching, and despite the fact he’s a year old for his grade. Martin has a 1.662 slugging and 2.385 OPS. Last weekend, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year was ranked as the No. 41 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline. This weekend, he shot up to No. 28.
The Greeley native’s national coming-out party was at last summer’s Area Code Games in San Diego, where he led the tournament in balls hit with 100-plus mph exit velocity. After that, the Martin family was flooded with calls and texts from scouts.
“By the end of that tournament, his baseball life changed,” said Walker’s dad, Darrel Martin.
Martin’s decision to stop playing basketball this winter so he could focus on weight lifting and training for his final prep baseball season set the table for his video-game numbers this spring.
“At one point I didn’t see him hit for a while, then we were hitting one day with the Rapsodo,” explained teammate and best friend Tate Smith, an Oklahoma State commit. “The first one he ripped off was like 110 exit velo. I was like (whistles). ‘Oh, that’s new.’ At that point, I saw that happening in the cage and I knew the 3A pitchers were going to have a tough time.”
But Martin’s dream season didn’t get off to a great start, at least by his standards. The shortstop was 1 for 6 over his first three games, with no homers. He admitted the pressure of being the Big Man On Campus in Eaton — where he also quarterbacked the Reds to three state titles — was weighing on him, as was the pressure to lead EHS baseball to a three-peat.
“I was trying to live up to certain expectations coming off a good summer, those good showings at the circuits,” Martin said. “I was putting too much pressure on myself. After the third game, I sat down and realized this was my last time playing high school ball… After the season it’s going to turn into a job. So I chilled out and just started having fun with my guys.”
Martin could be faced with a life-changing decision when the MLB Draft rolls around July 9. If he’s selected in the first few rounds, the opportunity and bonus will likely be large enough for Martin to forgo his scholarship to Arkansas.
Smith, who started Saturday’s title game before it was suspended in the second inning, has also received draft interest from every MLB club. With a 10-0 record and 1.09 ERA, the right-hander and utlityman Ryder True are the two other senior pillars for the Reds, who won 20 of their games by mercy-rule while racking up a +345 run differential coming into this weekend.
Smith, a tight end/defensive end on the Reds’ football team, is also nearing six state titles like Martin. But True, a fullback/middle linebacker who will play at Chadron State, trumps both of them with what would be nine total team titles counting the three he earned as a member of the wrestling team.
“He calls it the ‘Other Hand Club,’ because he’s had rings on the other hand for a while now,” Smith said. “Even with me and Walker’s sixth (hopefully imminent), Ryder’s still the king of the ‘Other Hand Club.’”
And if you ask Smith, Walker could be remembered as the king of Colorado baseball when it’s all said and done. But the real fun is just beginning.
“He has the chance to be one of the best players this state has ever seen,” Smith said. “Whether he’s in pro ball (later this summer) or when he heads to Arkansas, I can’t wait to watch.”
Postscript: On Sunday in Greeley, Eaton won its 14th baseball title with a 13-3 mercy-rule victory over University. Martin was 1 for 2 with an RBI and a run scored. Smith and junior right-hander Mitch Haythorn (Oklahoma commit) pitched the Reds to the win.
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