Home
    Articles

    Cincinnati Reds #3 Prospect: Noelvi Marte – SS

    Doug Gray 13

    When the season began for Noelvi Marte the 20-year-old was in the Seattle Mariners organization and heading to the state of Washington to play for the High-A Everett Aquasox. Before the season was over he would be traded to Cincinnati in a deadline deal and finish out his season in Dayton before heading to the Arizona Fall League.

    This article was first sent out to those who support the site over on Patreon. Early access is one of the perks that you could get be joining up as a Patron and supporting the work done here at RedsMinorLeagues.com.

    The 2022 season started out well for Noelvi Marte as he opened up with an 8-game hitting streak that included two home runs and seven walks. He also closed out the month of April with a final week where he added five more extra-base hits while walking as many times as he struck out.

    But when May began he went into a prolonged slump over the next seven weeks. From May 1st through June 21st he hit just .216/.305/.314 with 42 strikeouts and just nine extra-base hits. On June 22nd he went 1-5 with a double, but that game kick started a turnaround over the next five weeks that saw him hit .365/.440/.670 with 17 extra-base hits, 15 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 29 games played. That time ran right into the trade deadline and that’s when Marte was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in a prospect-heavy package that he led.

    After joining the Reds organization Marte headed to High-A Dayton to join the Dragons. After going 0-4 in his first game he clubbed two home runs in his second game and drove in four. Those two home runs represented half of the home runs he would hit with Dayton in his 30 games, but while the power didn’t come through the rest of the season he still hit .299 with 17 walks and 22 strikeouts in his 28 games beyond his 2-homer game.

    For all 2022 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).

    Noelvi Marte Scouting Report

    Position: Shortstop | B/T: R/R

    Height: 6′ 1″ | Weight: 181 lbs | Acquired: International FA (2018, Seattle), Trade (July 2022)

    Born: October 16, 2001

    Hitting | He has an above-average hit tool. A pull-heavy approach – even from the right side – could limit exactly how much he can get out of this tool, though.

    Power | He has plus raw power and can already show plenty of it in games. He should continue to add power as he progresses.

    Speed | He’s got above-average speed.

    Defense | Marte has the ability to play shortstop where he shows good hands and is athletic enough to make all of the plays.

    Arm | He has a plus arm that will play well anywhere on the field.

    An all-around, potential 5-tool player, Noelvi Marte can and does show off skills everywhere on the field. He can hit, hit for power, has some speed, shows off a big arm, and he can handle the shortstop position.

    Offensively he needs to get a little more consistent with his approach. That’s a bit nit-picky, because overall his approach is quite good, but he will have lapses where he’s far more aggressive and willing to expand the zone. Those times don’t tend to last for too long, but that’s the only thing keeping him from taking that next step at the plate. With big time power and a good hit tool to go along with strong baserunning abilities he should provide value in all aspects on the offensive side of things.

    Defensively he had only played shortstop in his career through the end of the 2022 regular season. But Cincinnati sent Marte to the Arizona Fall League after the season ended and had him playing third base. The move was not made as a “he can’t play shortstop” one, but one to get him experience at the position so he would be familiar with it in the scenario where when he’s ready for the big leagues there’s more than one positional option for him.

    At shortstop he’s got the range and the arm to remain at the position for now. There are concerns with some scouts that he may eventually outgrow the position, but for now he’s perfectly capable of playing there. He will need to be more consistent in the field. With that said in 23 games with Dayton he made just two errors and had a .974 fielding percentage after having a .918 fielding percentage with Everett in the Mariners organization.

    At third base in the Arizona Fall League the reports were mixed. He showed the necessary tools at the position, but he did struggle in the field, too. Marte made six errors in 21 games and posted an .838 fielding percentage. With more experience much of those issues should clear up.

    Video

    Noelvi Marte Spray Chart

    Interesting Stat on Noelvi Marte

    Against starting pitchers Noelvi Marte hit .262/.345/.425 with 28 walks and 54 strikeouts in 287 plate appearances. Against relief pitchers Noelvi Marte hit .301/.403/.500 with 31 walks and 53 strikeouts in 233 plate appearances.

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

    Related Posts

    13 Responses

    2. Curious what you mean by “A pull-heavy approach – even from the right side” for a right handed only hitter.

      1. I assume it is because right handed hitters can get away with a pull heavy approach more than a left handed hitter (at least when the shift is a thing). But even as a right handed hitter, such an approach can potentially limit the effectiveness of his hit tool.

        1. Luke is on the right track here.

          Righties can get away with more of a pull-happy approach because the shift hasn’t been able to “hurt” them as much because they don’t have “short left fielders” like lefties have to often face “short right fielders” and thus haven’t been pushed into potentially changing their approach like lefties would have.

          But when you are as pull happy as Marte is, teams can still tailor their defensive positioning better than someone who is a bit more balanced, and in theory at least, that’s going to cost a guy some hits.

    3. On balls hit to the left side, including CF in the mix since the data do not differentiate whether left center or right center, he hit .411. On balls hit to the right side he hit .078. Perhaps pulling the ball isn’t such a bad idea, especially with the shift being banned and opening up the left side of the infield more! Statistics can be such a useful tool for a devil’s advocate!!

    4. Noelvi Marte is a very good top prospect to have. He could be perfectly a #1 prospect if he were in another farm system, being a potential five-tool player. This season would mean a promotion to AA and even AAA depending on how he performs though we are expecting everything is gonna be very well

    5. An infield featuring Marte, de la Cruz, McLain, and CES would certainly be something, especially offensively. It could also be a reality in Cincinnati by sometime in 2024 (with all but Marte potentially finding MLB time in 2023).

      As much as I like India, and I understand prospects are exactly that, I think the development and depth at SS could lead to him being available in the right deal (I’m thinking SP with years of control to go with Ashcraft/Lodolo/Greene, or a solid OF).

      1. Expect the “service time game” to be in effect, but the timetable is likely EDLC before June, CES June/July, McLain August/Sept., and Marte with the expanded roster in Sept..

        Of course, all could slump to start the season in MiLB, and some could never make it, but the front office surely can’t expect a logjam ahead of them.

        1. The Reds haven’t played the “service time game” with their other top prospects (e.g., India, Greene, Lodolo).

    6. I am not necessarily advocating for it now, but above average speed and a plus arm are good attributes for a right fielder. (Or for that matter, a left fielder, because I believe teams overlook the usefulness of a strong arm in left field.) They have Steer, CES, Stewart and Collier has 3B prospects.

      Marte is a good example of why it doesn’t matter that so many of their top prospects are now “shortstops.” If you can hit, you are going to play.

      I think in the long run that they will use the best glove guy as the MLB shortstop, and move the other guys to other positions.

      1. All good points. With each of their top SS prospects, the Reds would do well to find a second position where they are comfortable and effective playing defensively.

        1. Is CES too slow for an OF corner? I know his errors stoped at 3B, but it went from too many to almost nonexistent. I’m not sure I trust him on the hot corner, 1B, and DH are always an option, but LF could be good too.

          2024 Possible

          C Stephenson / Free
          1B McGarry / Stephenson
          2B McLain / Lopez
          3B Marte / Johnson
          SS EDLC / Barrero
          DH Fraley / Stephenson
          RF India / Fraley
          CF Siani / Fraley
          LF CES / Fraley

    7. While the club’s international program has certainly picked up recently, I must admit I don’t mind pilfering others’ international signees via trade. Plus I get to watch Luis Castillo for the next few years here in the PNW.

    Comments are closed.