Noelvi Marte of the Cincinnati Reds fields during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at T-Mobile Park on July 08, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
The No. 24 ranked prospect and the Cincinnati Reds top prospect according to MLBpipeline.com, shortstop Noelvi Marte, has been called up to the big leagues.
Marte, 21, born in Cotui, Dominican Republic, was selected this season to play at the Futures Game in Seattle last month while splitting time between the complex level, Double-A Chattanooga, and Triple-A Louisville.
Marte this season is hitting .279 in 92 games with 399 plate appearances this season, recording 97 hits, 20 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, 45 RBI, 18 stolen bases, and 43 walks with a .812 OPS.
Last offseason, Marte played in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs, suiting up for 21 games and batting .211 in 84 plate appearances with 15 hits, one double, two home runs, 10 RBI, and 12 walks.
Marte, who is also of Spanish descent, played for Spain’s national team during the 2023 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Regensburg, Germany, last September. He batted .412 playing in all four games with 17 at-bats recording seven hits, one double, one home run, eight RBI, and two walks along with a 1.121 OPS.
Marte came to the Reds organization in the trade that sent Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners on July 30, 2022, which included Levi Stoudt, Andrew Moore, and Edwin Arroyo going to Cincinnati.
Before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, Marte started out in High-A Everett, playing in 85 games with 394 plate appearances and 94 hits, 19 doubles, 15 home runs, 55 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and 42 walks with a .825 OPS.
In his first season with the Cincinnati Reds organization, Marte played in 30 games with High-A Daytona, batting .293 in 126 plate appearances with 31 hits, four doubles, four home runs, 13 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and 17 walks along with a .840 OPS.
Marte was signed as an international free agent to a minor league contract on July 2, 2018, by the Seattle Mariners.
During his first professional season in the Dominican Summer League, Marte batted .309 playing in 65 games with 299 plate appearances recording 81 hits, 18 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 54 RBI, swiping 17 stolen bases, and 29 walks including a .883 OPS prior to the 2020 season which resulted in canceling the minor leagues because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Marte is the seventh rookie on the Cincinnati Reds roster to make his Major League debut this season, joining Matt McLain, Andrew Abbott, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Elly De La Cruz, and Brandon Willamson.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, “Teams, knowing there are not enough days in the season anymore to exhaust a player’s rookie status, are trying to get young players Major League experience while keeping them eligible to potentially earn the team draft-pick incentives through Rookie of the Year voting next season.”
The Reds are in the mix with the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers for their first National League Central Division title since 2012 with nearly a month left to go in the season.