It was a big week for Noelvi Marte and the Chattanooga Lookouts infielder is now going to be getting some hardware to prove it after being named the Southern League Player of the Week. He joins Matt McLain, who was named International League Player of the Week, as Cincinnati Reds prospects getting recognition for their performance in the first week of May.
Noelvi Marte entered last week’s series against the Birmingham Barons riding a 5-game on-base streak. That streak extended to 11 games by the time the series was over as Marte picked up a hit in each game and also walked twice during the series. He would have 2-hit games in each of the final four games. Marte would also hit a walk-off home run on May 5th for the Lookouts. It was his 3rd home run in the series – and he would hit a 4th in Sunday’s finale.
All told, Noelvi Marte hit .417/.482/.958 against Birmingham on the week. Half of his 10 hits went for extra-base hits as he added in a double with his four homers. Marte didn’t drive a run in during the first game of the series, but then drove in at least one run in the next five and drove in 11 during the series.
The season got out to a slow start for Marte in the first two weeks. He went 9-49 (.184) with a double, triple, and a home run. He had struck out in 27% of his plate appearances in that stretch. But over the last two weeks he’s really turned things around and has locked in. From April 22nd through today he’s gone 19-52 with three doubles, four home runs, five walks, and eight strikeouts. He’s hit .365/.424/.654 in 13 games and his strikeout rate in that span is just 14%. That’s helped push his season line to .277/.357/.485 in 115 plate appearances.
Here are the other Players of the Week this season from the farm system:
- Andrew Abbott – Southern League – April 10-16
- Blake Dunn – Midwest League – April 24-30
- Noelvi Marte – Southern League – May 1-7
- Matt McLain – International League – May 1-7