MLB Draft Preview: OF Marty Costes

Max Marcilla 2017 Draft Preview

Marty Costes – OF

Ht: 5’9″        Wt: 200        Year: So.        Bats/Throws: R/R

Hometown (HS): Baltimore, Md. (Archbishop Curley)

2017 Stats

G: 57      PA: 274    Slash Line: .326/.427/.535      HR: 11     RBI: 42     K-rate: 16.8 %      BB-rate: 11.3 %

Sophomore Marty Costes smacks a ball down the third base line. Hannah Evans/Maryland Baseball Network 5/9/2017

Background: Marty Costes arrived in College Park with little expectations as a former three-sport athlete that was added to the recruiting class during the second semester of his senior year of high school. After not starting during the first weekend, Costes had a big weekend in the Keith LeClair Classic—including his first career home run—and never looked back. 

Two years later, he has been Maryland’s most consistent offensive threat in the middle of one of the Big Ten’s better lineups. The Baltimore native belted nine homers his freshman year, averaging one long ball every 21.1 at bats. He led all Big Ten freshmen in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage, while slashing .263/.363/.479.

After his first season as a Terp, Costes joined the Cal Ripken League as a member of the Baltimore Redbirds and kept up his power spree, tying for third in the league with seven home runs. He improved his average and showed speed on the basepaths as well, hitting .319 while swiping 10 bags in 14 tries as he was named to the Cal Ripken League All-Star team. 

Returning to Maryland this year as a sophomore, Costes established himself as one of the best all-around hitters in the Big Ten. He tied with Kevin Smith for the team lead in homers and RBIs, with 11 and 42, respectively, while his .326 averaged ranked among the top ten in the conference. Thanks to the strong showing at the plate, Costes joined Brian Shaffer as the only Terps to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Outlook: Costes has proven he can hit over the course of his two seasons at Maryland. He is a power threat at the plate, racking up 44 extra-base hits in two years, and owns a career slash line of .298/.398/.510. He holds his own defensively as well, serving as the starting left fielder in 2016 before transition across to right field this year, where he has excelled. Costes also got a taste of center field in mid-May when he spelled Zach Jancarski there for three games and did a fine job. Because of his ability at the plate and in the field, he is one of the more intriguing prospects on the Terps, despite being just a sophomore. 

Sophomore Marty Costes continues his hot streak. Hannah Evans/Maryland Baseball Network 4/16/2017

His plate discipline and power, as well as increasing averages, have him slated as one of college baseball’s better offensive threats. Baseball America ranked him as one of the top 200 draft prospects this year, and D1Baseball.com’s Frankie Piliere told Maryland Baseball Network that Costes “comes up a lot as one of the best pure hitters out there.” Piliere compared him to Mississippi State’s Brent Rooker, a draft-eligible sophomore in 2016 who was taken in the 38th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Rooker decided to return to school, and hit a team-high .404 with 21 homers while being awarded SEC Player of the Year honors.

Costes could go down a similar path as Rooker, as the two put up very similar numbers in their sophomore seasons. While Costes undoubtedly has the tools to succeed at the next level, his draft stock is limited as of now since he is a sophomore, and since he has two years of eligibility remaining, teams may pass on him in earlier rounds if they have questions about his signability. He will get drafted, but the question remains whether or not it will be high enough for him to decide to forgo his junior season.

While Costes may not find himself atop the draft boards this season, if he returns to Maryland for a junior season and continues to refine his craft at the plate, he will raise himself much higher up the draft boards in 2018.