When it comes to his own swing decisions, Mason Martin has changed his mentality so that he’s not searching for the perfect pitch. Now, he’s proving that his patience goes beyond the plate.

Despite the Pirates dealing with depth issues at first base because of injuries, the top prospect at that position in their farm system isn’t worrying about waiting for a phone call that has yet to come.

Martin is biding his time at Triple-A Indianapolis, working on a plan presented by the Pirates for him to improve his swing decisions and contact rate while working on his lateral movement in the field.

“It’s one of those things, I say this all the time, but I have to control what I can control,” Martin told the Tribune-Review by phone Saturday from St. Paul, Minn. “For me, I’m just so thankful for every time I get to play professional baseball that I just enjoy every day. I’m chasing the dream, and I’m really thankful for that. When my time comes, my time comes. I promise you I’ll be prepared for it.”

The 6-foot, 220-pound lefty slugger is slashing .241/.315/.556 with 11 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in 43 games for Indianapolis this season but is striking out at a 33.7% rate.

“As we know in this game, yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games,” Martin said. “Over the course of a season, whether it’s 120 or 162 games, consistency is going to be what puts you over the top.”

Martin’s inconsistency has kept him in the minors, even as the Pirates placed first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo and designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach on the 10-day injured list and two of their possible replacements, utility infielder Michael Chavis (forearm) and outfielder Ben Gamel (hamstring), are day to day with injuries.

Yet the Pirates appear in no hurry to move up Martin, 22, who was left off the 40-man roster last fall even though he’s ranked their No. 22 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The Pirates have opted to play utility infielder Josh VanMeter at first base instead of promoting Martin, even though VanMeter had a costly error in Friday’s 4-3 loss to the San Diego Padres.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton told reporters in San Diego that Martin is “in the best spot for him,” in terms of development. This past spring, the Pirates emphasized the need for Martin to know what pitches he’s looking for and knowing what pitches he hits well, believing he might be too passive or simply passing up pitches he can do damage on.

“I swing at a lot of pitches in the zone, but it’s more about being disciplined as in leaving those close pitches that are off off, especially later in the count,” Martin said. “Not being passive on pitches that are good to hit. As long as I’m swinging at the right pitches, I think that’s where the growth lies for me.”

After hitting 35 homers across Low-A Greensboro and High-A Bradenton in 2019, when he was named the Pirates’ minor-league player of the year, Martin spent the summer of 2020 at the alternate training site in Altoona, where he faced a number of major-league pitchers who provided insight on how he would be attacked. Covid forced the cancellation of the minor-league season that year.

Martin hit 25 homers last season but found himself waiting for the perfect pitch instead of swinging at strikes. The focus is for him to stay on the plane of the pitch in the strike zone with his bat path instead of always searching for only those in his sweet spot. The realization came he still can do damage whether he’s a tick early or late.

“When I time it up perfect, it usually goes out. When I’m not perfectly on time, I allow myself to still have a chance because I can put the ball in play and not have to be perfect,” Martin said. “I think that’s what’s going to help me in the long run, in terms of making more contact.”

The catch is his inconsistency. After a strong start in April, where he slashed .303/.349/.671 with eight doubles, four triples, four homers and 17 RBIs, Martin has struggled in May. After going 0 for 4 with a walk and three strikeouts in the 7-4 win over St. Paul on Saturday, he is batting .186 and has three times as many strikeouts (37) as he does walks (13) this month.

“I had to definitely change my mentality a little bit,” Martin said. “I can’t just go up there and look for the perfect pitch to hit a home run on. I have to allow myself to be adjustable. I have to allow myself be a hitter. Finally, I’m becoming more of a hitter. I used to be more of a swinger. My mentality now is so much different. I think it’s helped me out a lot. There’s been a lot of ups and a couple speed bumps with it. I’m sticking with my plan and my process.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)