The future is now in Cincinnati. The Reds called up their top-ranked prospect, Noelvi Marte, on Saturday.
Fresh off a walk-off win from one of the organization's breakthrough rookies, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, the Reds entered play Saturday in a tie with the Marlins for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. MLB.com's No. 24 overall prospect will certainly provide a boost in the lineup for Cincinnati, becoming the fifth Top 100 prospect to get the call to The Show this season from Triple-A Louisville -- joining Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Andrew Abbott and Encarnacion-Strand.
"Noelvi has progressed and developed over the course of the year where we feel he's ready to make his big league debut and impact the team in a pennant race," Reds senior director of player development Jeremy Farrell said. "This group of guys that we've got breaking into the big leagues this year, they've all played together over the course of the last year-plus and developed a rapport and a bond, and they play the game with a lot of energy and they're fun to watch. They're pretty talented baseball players as well."
The move comes as the team placed infielder Kevin Newman on the injured list with a left oblique strain.
The 21-year-old will man the hot corner at Great American Ball Park, with Spencer Steer likely moving back to left field. Marte spent the first three seasons of his pro career at short -- first in the Mariners organization and then with the Reds after being the big chip in the deal that sent ace Luis Castillo to the Emerald City. Last fall however, Marte began to make the switch to third base during the Arizona Fall League, something that he admitted was a difficult transition.
But the talent that Marte possesses prevailed, as he found his way over 21 games with the Glendale Desert Dogs and posted a .211/.321/.310 slash line with a pair of home runs, a double, 10 RBIs and a stolen base in Arizona. Those reps translated to this season where he made 54 starts at third between Double-A Chattanooga and Louisville and sports a combined .924 fielding percentage. His 55-grade arm helps him compensate for throws across the diamond, and at 6-foot and 216 pounds, he just looks the part.
Still, it's not the glove that the Reds want. Marte sports a 60-grade power tool and has displayed some of the best raw power in the Minors of any prospect the past few years. His plate discipline has also advanced to go with his 50-grade hit tool as his strikeouts have gone down while there has been a tick up in his walks. His 55-grade speed will also play in the bigs.
After a loud introduction to pro ball with nine dingers in the Rookie level Dominican Summer League, Marte mashed 17 long balls over 99 games for Single-A Modesto in 2021. Last year, Marte split his season between High-A Everett and Daytona and posted a .279/.371/.458 slash line with 19 homers, 23 doubles, 74 runs scores, 68 RBIs, 59 walks and 23 stolen bases in 115 total games.
It appeared that this season was charging towards this moment for Marte. He made some noise in the Cactus League with nine hits and a stolen base over 13 games (11 at third base). Although he missed about three weeks in June with a hamstring strain, Marte was hitting everything in sight before his stint on the injured list and spent just three games with the Lookouts when he returned before being promoted to the Minors' highest level -- where he didn't miss a beat, batting .333 with 11 extra-base hits, 16 RBIs, 11 walks and five successful swipes in July for the Bats. He was also selected to the All-Star Futures Game, where he stole a base and scored.
"As the season went on we felt that his focusing solely on third base to continue his development there was needed so we made that adjustment and since he was promoted to Triple-A his taking to third has come a long way," Farrell said. "He worked really hard on staying athletic and he's remained diligent with his approach at the plate. His ability to adjust to how he's being pitched, letting the power come naturally, staying in the middle of the field and his strike zone discipline -- hitting pitches he can handle -- make him a force in the middle of the lineup."
This move by Cincinnati may initially come as a bit surprising, but with discouraging injury updates on Jonathan India and Jake Fraley recently, and Steer already having played 28 games in left for the Reds (without an error in 42 total chances), this makes a lot of sense. Factor in the timing of the playoff hunt and the success that the team has already had from its rookies, why not keep going back to the well?
Marte is not in the announced lineup for Saturday, but if he makes his Major League debut on Sunday when Hunter Greene is scheduled to get the start, the club will field an almost entirely homegrown starting lineup. Sounds like the Great American Dream for Reds fans.