Davis Martin was something of a forgotten man in the White Sox’ pitching picture. That will happen when you go away to recover from Tommy John surgery.
While Martin was away and mending toward a comeback, he changed much of his identity as a pitcher. When he came back, it was hard to identify him in the team photo.
Different look, different arsenal, different guy.
“Night and day difference” Martin said.
An occasional spot-starter call-up from Triple-A Charlotte for the 2022 rotation — which featured Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito and Johnny Cueto — Martin (4.83 ERA) left an impression, starting nine games and relieving in five more. He took a 3.63 ERA into his last start.
The following season, he made three starts at Triple-A Charlotte before having elbow surgery in May.
Throughout the course of his rehab, Martin added a cutter and changeup to his arsenal.
“Part of TJ [surgery] is all the repetitions. And the more reps you get, the better you get,” said Martin, a 14th-round Sox draft pick in 2018. “You throw 16 bullpens before you start [live batting practice]. Tinker on the slope, constantly tweaking, trying this and that and feeling your body. So many bullpens in a row and a straight-line progression, to games, to being here.
“And to have that kind of building and being hard on myself along the way, it was all great, setting that expectation for myself to be where I am right now.”
Martin has made four starts and one relief appearance this season, pitching to a 3.22 ERA with a higher strikeout rate (8.9) than he had in 2022 (6.8).
“He’s doing a great job of throwing strikes, being competitive and having a good feel for all his pitches,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “And he attacks guys.
“And it’s not easy coming off an injury when you’ve been out a long time, and he looks sharp early on.”
He now has an expanded five-pitch mix, which consists of a 94-mph four-seam fastball, slider, curve, cutter and changeup.
“This is the best stuff I’ve had in my career,” Martin said. “Adding the cutter, adding the changeup and getting the curveball and slider better.”
Martin and wife Jenna also added a child to their family, which he says helped his career.
“To have a different outlook on life having a baby, it becomes more of a game than a livelihood, and it’s helped me relax and go out and compete and have fun,” he said. “From ’22 to ’24, the guy here today is a much better pitcher, is much smarter and has better stuff.”
During the Sox’ rebuild, future rotation plans include Drew Thorpe, Jonathan Cannon, Ky Bush, Garrett Crochet and Nick Nastrini. Martin’s name was tossed in the mix when he came back from surgery.
“You take this almost as an audition,” he said. “Every time I go out there, I want to show that I can be one of the key pieces in this rotation. I already feel I have the stuff to be that. We have a great group of guys pushing each other, the same goal, and the fact we all have similar service time and similar age pushes our competitive edges. It’s a cool group, and it’s fun to go out and compete against each other.
“It’s a very professional group, and the thing holding us together is how great everyone is. We’re all working our butts off, everybody wants to win. And everybody takes losses hard. That’s what I noticed coming in, there is no quit and no loss of fight. We want to win together, especially with the rotation.”
ON DECK
TIGERS AT SOX
Friday: Keider Montero (4-5, 5.28 ERA) vs. Chris Flexen (2-12, 5.46), 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM.
Saturday: Tarik Skubal (14-4, 2.49) vs. Ky Bush (0-2, 3.68), 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM.
Sunday: TBA vs. Jonathan Cannon (2-7, 4.26), 1:10 p.m. NBCSCH, 1000-AM.
Monday: TBA vs. Davis Martin (0-2, 3.22), 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM.