HOUSTON, TX - JUNE 28: Houston Astros second round pick Corbin Martin arrives with Astros officials at Minute Maid Park on June 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Martin was taken with the 56th overall selection in the 2017 MLB Draft as the second of HoustonÕs two second-round picks. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) After dominating the minors and a retooling of the pitching staff, Corbin Martin finds himself living his childhood dream, starting for the Astros. You ask any kid from T-Ball to high school, what’s their goal? The answer will always be the same; to start in the major leagues. Some will name a team their favorite player plays for, some will name a team their fathers’ loved growing up, but almost always they will name their home-town team, as in the Astros. Corbin Martin is living just that dream. Growing up only 30 minutes away from Minute Maid Park, the young Martin was a fan of the Astros from the get-go. Martin found himself dominating the high school ranks of Cypress Ranch High. Quickly becoming a Texas name to be noticed. Just the same, he found himself being recruited by Texas A&M and found success early on at the college level. Martin began as a reliever for the Aggies but found himself being the Saturday starter in a miraculous 2017 season. Through 24 games that year, 13 of those starts Martin punched-out 90 batters and held a 5-2 record with a 3.58 ERA as a starter. The Aggies would ultimately lose out on the World Series, Martin, on the other hand, came out a winner. One month removed from the College World Series, Martin found himself in another promising situation. The Houston Astros drafted him with the 56th selection of the 2017 draft. Immediately making his professional debut three weeks later with the Tri-City ValleyCats. Across the 32.2 Innings, he fanned 43 batters and held opponents to a .158 average while maintaining a fantastic 11.3 K/9IP. The untapped potential was finally starting to blossom. Ending the 2017 season in Low A ball, the Astros immediately moved him up a level to Buies Creek. In 2018, Martin found himself climbing the ranks early, being promoted from Buies Creek to (Double-A) Corpus Christi after only four games. While in Corpus, Martin flourished. Combined with his tenure in High A, he finished the 2018 season with 122 innings pitched, 122 strikeouts and a 2.51 ERA. After just a year and a half of pro ball, the Astros saw something on Corbin that they couldn’t pass up on. They invited the young right-hander to his first pro Spring Training earlier this year. He didn’t disappoint. Ending his first Spring Training with 16 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched and held hitters to a .222 average. The Astros would then reassign him to AAA Round Rock. While his stay was short in Round Rock, he dominated there posting a sparkling 1.48 ERA over 24 innings pitched. With all that has been said about his success, there has been one major knock on his game. His control. He is known to lose his release point at times, and the further he goes in a game the more he’s prone to walks or balls hung up in the zone. His repertoire features a solid fastball that sits in the 94-96 range. An over-powering curveball, that will most definitely be featured in tonight’s game. A slider that still needs a bit of work and a change-up that will keep hitters honest. The potential to be an everyday pitcher is there, and to be frank, he reminds me of Lance McCullers. Having a fastball-change to start off with, then a dominating curve that finishes off the hitter. The dream is becoming a reality. The boy who grew up watching the Killer B’s just down Highway 290, is now toeing the rubber and looking to further his success with a win. With the notion that McHugh is being moved to the pen, the brass ring is there to grab as well. There is a 5th spot open in the rotation and its Martins to be had. This writer hopes he does. What a beautiful storyline to follow and what a story to tell.<doc-sep>HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 12: Corbin Martin #29 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park on May 12, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) Astros’ rookie Corbin Martin couldn’t have given his mother and grandmother, who were in the stands, a better Mother’s Day gift than that spectacular debut. Martin made his Major League debut for the Houston Astros in Minute Maid Park, just a half-hour from where he played high school ball. With his family watching in the stadium, he did more than could have been expected of him. He got his first win surrendering two earned runs in 5.1 innings of work, striking out nine while walking just one batter. One of those runs was a solo shot from Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the third. But Martin kept his composure and struck out the next two batters to close out the inning. Martin was pulled in the 6th inning with one-on and one-out, after walking Shin-Soo Choo and then striking out Danny Santana. Following his congratulations of a job well done from A. J. Hinch, he walked off the mound with a resounding standing ovation as he headed to the dugout. He couldn’t help but crack a smile at that moment, a moment that he’ll never forget. Ironically, Collin McHugh, the starter Martin replaced, was the pitcher that came in to relieve him. He wasn’t able to hold the inherited runner, giving up two straight singles and then a fielder’s choice to Hunter Pence scoring Elvis Andrus for Martins second and last earned run of the night. McHugh would give up another run of his own before getting out of the inning. Chris Devenski would give up two more harmless runs in the ninth. The Astros certainly didn’t come up short in run support. They eclipsed their season high in hits and runs with 18 and 15, respectively. The offensive onslaught was highlighted by a career afternoon for George Springer who went 5-for-5, with five runs, four RBIs and two home runs. Alex Bregman also contributed two homers and five RBIs. Final score Astros 15 – Rangers 5. I’m sure Corbin Martin is walking on air right now and deservedly so. This could be the beginning of a special career, only time will tell. But for now, let Martin savor this special day.<doc-sep>Martin is expected to have his contract purchased from Triple-A Round Rock and make his big-league debut Sunday against the Rangers, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports. Martin will start in place of the struggling Collin McHugh and could have the chance to stick around should he impress in his first start. The 26-year-old has a 2.31 ERA in 179 career minor-league innings, striking out 27.5 percent of opposing batters while walking 7.9 percent. He projects as a future mid-rotation starter with average command, an above-average changeup and a plus slider.<doc-sep>
HOUSTON - Corbin Martin came to the mound for his Major League Baseball debut on Sunday. Though he was likely nervous, his first pitch was a strike. Then, he ended up striking out Texas Rangers leadoff hitter Shin-soo Choo. If there were nerves, that definitely calmed them. The former Texas A&M standout was brilliant in his first-ever appearance with the Houston Astros. Martin, who was called up from the minor leagues in only his second full professional season, picked up up a victory in his first start. On a pitch count, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound 23-year-old threw 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs with only three hits to go with nine strikeouts and a walk. The Astros won, 15-5, to sweep the Rangers in the four-game series. After only allowing a hit in the first two innings, Martin hit his only speed bump of the game in the top of the third. Though he struck out two other batters in the frame, he allowed a solo home run to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The nine-hole hitter has only five career long balls but four of them have come at Minute Maid Park. After throwing two more scoreless innings after that, Martin exited with one out in the top of the sixth. He had walked Choo prior to leaving. Collin McHugh, who Martin replaced in the Astros rotation after the veteran was demoted earlier in the week, came in and allowed Choo to score, so it was charged to Martin. Though it is unclear what his immediate future holds, it looks like the young righthander has a bright future with his hometown club. A second-round selection in 2017 after helping the Aggies to the College World Series, Martin played his high school ball at Houston Cy Ranch. He served as a reliever his first two years in Aggieland before a breakout junior campaign in 2017. Martin played rookie ball after being drafted and then spent his first professional season a year ago at both the Class A and AA levels. He was in spring training with the Astros and began this season at Class AAA Round Rock.