After working his way back from Tommy John surgery, Davis Martin appeared in just 11 games for the White Sox last season but when he returned to the mound, he looked like a different pitcher.
The 28-year-old right-hander saw his strikeout rate increase from 17.8 percent to 21.4 while also posting a 46.9 percent ground ball rate that placed him in the MLB’s top 25th percentile.
Martin has picked up right where he left off this spring, firing two perfect innings against the Dodgers, which included striking out Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy. A key to the right-hander's success has been a new “kick changeup”, which he used to put away Muncy after a nine-pitch battle.
The new kick change has helped Martin be more effective against left-handed hitters. He throws it at 90 mph, just four mph slower than his average four-seam fastball. However, it’s late breaking action with over 33 inches of drop makes it act like a spitter.
Martin broke down his new pitch with CHSN’s Chuck Garfein, calling it a “godsend” after Tommy John surgery. Martin refers to himself as a “supinator” meaning he has a tendency to rotate his forearm outward during his throwing motion. Because of this, he struggled to get inside the ball, which would have placed more stress on his forearm post surgery because it requires an excessive inward rotation of the forearm during the throwing motion.
To combat this, Martin holds his “kick change” with a two-seam grip with his middle and ring finger. His middle finger is the last thing on the ball as he released it, which changes the axis of the ball as it comes toward the plate, resulting in a sideways spin as it drops towards the plate.
This one is for the baseball nerds.
— White Sox on CHSN (@CHSN_WhiteSox) March 3, 2025
White Sox right-hander Davis Martin breaks down how he throws his “kick change”. #TheWhiteSoxPodcast | @ChuckGarfien pic.twitter.com/7bulJOCoFv
The results speak for themselves. Left-handers have a career-batting average of .266 against Martin. Last season that average dropped to .257, albeit in a small 50 inning sample size.
After watching Martin throw against a stacked Dodgers lineup on Sunday, it’s clear his confidence is growing.
“It’s the best in the world,” Martin told reporters after his outing. “They won the World Series last year and it was kind of cool in that first inning, here comes the 2024 World Series Champions. You are like, ‘Let’s go. This is the best.”
After posting a 4.32 ERA in 11 starts last season, he is now in making a solid case to be the White Sox Opening Day starter, in a rotation filled with young arms.
Martin signed a one-year contract worth $800,000 and will be arbitration eligible for the next two seasons. His cheap contract makes him an ideal candidate for Getz to flip at the deadline to help expedite the rebuild. Considering the pitching is usually a hot commodity at the trade deadline, a solid first half of the season could net the White Sox a decent haul for a pitcher
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