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Cincinnati Reds Top Prospect Delivers First Major League Hit on Sunday

Cheers to Noelvi Marte, who doubled for his first major league hit on Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Brady Farkas|
Cincinnati Reds Top Prospect Delivers First Major League Hit on Sunday
Cincinnati Reds Top Prospect Delivers First Major League Hit on Sunday

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Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds were beaten by the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday by a score of 10-3, but that didn't stop the day from being memorable for Reds top prospect Noelvi Marte, who delivered his first major league hit.

Acquired at the trade deadline in 2022 by the Reds in the deal that sent Luis Castillo to Seattle, Marte is the top prospect in the organization and the No. 24 prospect in all of baseball.

The following excerpt comes from his MLB.com 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.

Marte joins one of the most exciting young teams in all of baseball. The Reds have already promoted Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Andrew Abbott and Christian Encarnacion-Strand this season as they continue their youth movement. The Reds are 64-61 and trail in the National League wild card race by 1.0 game.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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