EATON, Colo. — While the top of Sunday night’s MLB Draft made history, with LSU teammates Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews going first and second overall, the eyes of Colorado were on Eaton’s Walker Martin.
Martin, who was named Colorado’s Player of the Year and projected by some as a first-round pick, fell to No. 52, where he was selected by the San Francisco Giants.
“It's definitely a dream come true,” Martin told Denver7 Sports from his Eaton home where family and friends gathered to watch the draft. “I never really would have thought a kid from Eaton, Colorado would have an opportunity like this, but I put my nose to the grindstone and worked my tail off to get to this point, and I'm gonna continue to work hard and get to the league as quickly as possible.”
It was a stressful start to the night for Martin, who some deemed worthy of a mid-first-round selection.
“You’re wondering, after all of this talk, is it going to happen,” Martin said.
Waiting through 51 picks wasn’t how Walker or his dad, Darrell, saw it going. Darrell told Denver7 he could see Walker getting “fired up” during the wait. As soon as he pulled him aside to talk about it, though, the phone rang.
Darrell said his son will have a chip on his shoulder during his pro baseball journey.
“It was kind of enjoyable looking at his face. I'm like, this is fuel,” Darrell said. “[He needs to] use it. And I think he's going to – that's kind of what he's always done.”
Martin batted .633 with 20 home runs and 75 RBI in 2023, in what was an undefeated senior season that culminated in Eaton’s third straight state championship, according to CHSAA.
He was ranked the No. 30 overall prospect in the draft on MLB.com.
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