Former Central Bobcat Davis Martin Now Longest-Tenured Player on White Sox

CHICAGO, IL — Life moves fast, especially in the Major Leagues.

Less than four years after making his debut with the Chicago White Sox, former San Angelo Central star Davis Martin is now the longest-tenured player on the team.

Martin, who is still only 29 years old, became the veteran of the organization when the White Sox traded Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets in January.

“I woke up to the news, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Here we are. I’m an old guy,’” Martin said in an interview with MLB.com.

Martin is coming off his best season in the majors last year since he was drafted out of Texas Tech in 2018. He earned a spot in the starting rotation as the team’s No. 3 pitcher and posted a 4.10 ERA over 142 ⅔ innings, despite a forearm injury that sidelined him for about a month.

One of his better performances came against the Texas Rangers when he allowed only four hits in six innings.

Martin broke into the majors in 2022 before being sidelined for all of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2024 as a relief pitcher before his breakout season last year. It began with an impressive outing in Spring Training when he threw an immaculate inning against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, highlighted by a three-pitch strikeout of Shohei Ohtani.

Despite Martin’s ascent, the White Sox had the second-worst record in the league last season at 60-102. They begin this year March 26 at Milwaukee.

As a senior at San Angelo Central in 2015, Martin led the Bobcats to the regional quarterfinals for the first time in program history. He went 9-1 with a 0.29 ERA and 116 strikeouts.

He joins David Hulse and Trey Lunsford as the only former Central players to reach the majors.