Tigers take Vanderbilt IF Austin Martin in Baseball America mock draft

A new mock draft by Baseball America has the Detroit Tigers selecting Vanderbilt infielder Austin Martin with the No. 1 pick this year.

The rest of the top five:

2. Baltimore: Georgia RHP Emerson Hancock

3. Miami: Arizona State 1B Spencer Torkelson

4. Kansas City: New Mexico State 2B Nick Gonzales

5. Toronto: Texas A&M LHP Asa Lacy

“There’s no clear No. 1 overall player in the class like a year ago with Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, so for now, Austin Martin, Spencer Torkelson and Emerson Hancock make perfect sense as No. 1 candidates,” according to Baseball America. “However, for now we’ll lean towards Martin, who has hit .376/.479/.521 in two years in the SEC and could elevate his draft stock by playing a capable shortstop this spring after handling third base as a sophomore. There are some easy comparisons to make with Martin and both Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson—the first two picks in the 2015 draft class.”

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Martin, 20, hit .392 (.486 on-base) with 10 homers and 46 RBI in 2019 for Vanderbilt, which defeated Michigan in the College World Series.

The 2020 MLB Draft is June 10-12. This is the second time in three years the Tigers have had the No. 1 pick. In 2018 they selected Auburn right-handed pitcher Casey Mize. Last year they had the No. 5 pick and took outfielder Riley Greene of Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Fla.