Cincinnati Reds prospect Noelvi Marte is being promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats after helping the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts to a Southern League first-half title, according to a report via Twitter Sunday night from ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
Marte, who is on the Reds’ 40-man roster, is hitting .281 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 222 plate appearances for the Lookouts, with 10 stolen bases and an OPS of .820.
Signed by Seattle as a shortstop, Marte started playing third base last year in the Arizona Fall League. He played 17 games at third and 30 at short for Chattanooga.
Here’s more about the talented young infielder, who returned to action for the Lookouts last week after missing the first half of June because of a hamstring injury:
Marte is 21, less than three months older than De La Cruz. But he hasn’t been in the Reds’ system as long as Elly. While De La Cruz signed with Cincinnati as an international free agent in 2018, it has been less than one year since the Reds acquired Marte last July.
Marte came to the Reds in the Luis Castillo trade with the Seattle Mariners.
Castillo, who posted a 3.62 ERA in 137 starts for the Reds over parts of six seasons in Cincinnati, was sent to the Mariners for Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Andrew Moore and Levi Stoudt. This season, Castillo has a 2.89 ERA and 1.053 WHIP in 15 starts.
Stoudt has appeared in three games for the Reds this season, including two starts. Arroyo, 19, and MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 Reds prospect, is hitting .248 with seven homers, 29 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 250 plate appearances at High-A Dayton this season. Moore opened the season on the 60-day IL.
Marte impressed in May.
Before his injury, Marte was named Southern League Player of the Month after hitting .343 with seven homers and 12 multi-hit games. He had two-homer games May 4 and May 19.
Marte’s first two hits for Dayton last year were home runs. He hit .293 in 126 plate appearances for the Dragons, with 10 stolen bases.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Noelvi Marte to join Cincinnati’s Triple-A Louisville Bats, per report