Reds MiLB Notebook: Noelvi Marte has a big day in the AFL

The “regular season” in the Arizona Fall League didn’t exactly go well for Noelvi Marte. The Cincinnati Reds #3 prospect walked 12 times and had just 14 strikeouts in 21 games played, but he struggled to find hits along the way as he posted a .211 batting average, a .321 on-base percentage, and he slugged just .310 with one double and two home runs in 84 plate appearances. But with the “playoffs” starting last night (1 and done format), Marte helped lead Glendale to an appearance in the Championship game. The infielder homered in his first at-bat. He added a double in his second at-bat. The third time he came to the plate he would walk. He’d finish 2-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

Tonight you will be able to watch the AFL Championship game at 8pm ET at this link. No lineups are available yet, so I can’t say for certain if any of the Reds prospects will be in the game or not. We’re all just going to have to find out together.

23 Players Elect Free Agency

It’s minor league free agent season and on Friday there were 23 players in the Reds organization who elected minor league free agency.

Some of these names are more recognizable than others. Brandon Bailey, Deck McGuire, Chuckie Robinson, Justin Nicolino, Raynel Espinal, Ronnie Dawson, Stephen Piscotty, and Trey Wingenter all have spent time in the big leagues in the past (some with the Reds, some with other teams). One player on the list, Walker Lockett, I didn’t even remember being in the organization. He saw action in the big leagues from 2018-2020 before pitching in Korea in 2021. He signed with the Reds in May of 2022 but never made it into a game at any level during the season.

Winter League Updates

The Australian Winter League began this week. At least as of now the only Red playing there is Donald Lutz, and he’s a Reds employee (he’s one of the scouts in Australia) and no longer a Reds player. Michael Siani’s younger brother Sammy is playing in the league, though, just in case you happen to be browsing some box scores or tuning into broadcasts of the games.

Venezuelan Winter League

Eduardo Salazar has been having a good showing so far in Venezuela while pitching for Caribes de Anzoategui. A starter for the Reds, he’s pitched mostly out of the bullpen this fall/winter, making one start and four relief appearances. In his 7.2 innings he’s allowed just one earned run (1.17 ERA) on four hits and two walks while striking out five batters.

Manuel Cachutt is also pitching out of the bullpen for Anzoategui. He’s allowed one run in four outings, striking out two batters with two walks in 6.1 innings while giving up five hits.

Puerto Rican Winter League

There are a handful of Cincinnati Reds minor leaguers in the league this year. Brian Rey is out to the best start among the group so far. He’s hitting .286/.450/.286 with five walks, two strikeouts, a steal, three runs, and two runs batted in so far through five games played. Edwin Arroyo is on the same Mayaguez team as Rey and he’s played in four games so far, hitting .182/.308/.182 with two walks and three strikeouts.