Cincinnati Reds Top Prospect Out with Hamstring Injury
The Cincinnati Reds and their prospects are the talk of baseball right now.
One of the most exciting young teams in all of baseball, the Reds have debuted several top prospects this season including Spencer Steer, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz. That's in addition to pitcher Brandon WIlliamson as well.
And there are more prospects coming, but one of those prospects, Noelvi Marte, will be more delayed.
In addition to not necessarily being ready to for major league competition yet, Marte has been sidelined much of the month of June.
The following comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:
Marte has been sidelined at Double-A Chattanooga since June 3 with a hamstring strain, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Rosecrans says the trip to the 7-day injured list was precautionary, so it sounds like a mild strain. On the season, Marte is slashing .293/.366/.484 with eight home runs and 10 steals in 47 games. His 16.9 percent strikeout rate is the best mark of his career and this is his first exposure to Double-A pitching.
He was acquired in 2022 at the trade deadline in the deal that sent ace pitcher Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners.
He's currently the Reds number two prospect after De La Cruz, per MLB.com.
Here's a portion of his prospect profile:
There are few prospects with more raw power than Marte, and he’s continuing to learn how to tap into it, with 36 homers over the last two seasons. It shows up more to his pull side as he’s good at barreling the ball out front. He draws walks and keeps his strikeouts to a minimum but can still improve on swing decisions and overall consistency in following his gameplan, though it should be noted he’s always been quite young for his level.
While Marte has the feel, instincts and arm to play shortstop long-term, it’s unclear if he’s going to outgrow the position. The Reds introduced him to third base in the AFL and were pleased with how that went, even if outside evaluators detected a player who looked more like he wanted to prove he can stick at short. He’s just 21 for all of the 2023 season, with plenty of time for him to figure things out and let his bat carry him to the big leagues.
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