Noelvi Marte’s sudden rise has Reds fans scrambling to catch up

Noelvi Marte’s career has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride since arriving in Cincinnati. Once viewed as one of baseball’s brightest up-and-coming stars, his path to filling those shoes has been anything but smooth.

A highly touted prospect at the time of the blockbuster trade that sent Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners, Marte's first full year in the Reds organization quickly turned rocky after an 80-game PED suspension derailed his 2024 campaign. When he did return, the rhythm and confidence that once defined his game found its way out of reach.

Those struggles only carried over into 2025. After an abysmal showing in spring training, Marte was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to begin the season. It looked like he might be stuck in baseball purgatory — a player shuffling between the major league roster and Triple-A, fighting to recapture what made him so special in the first place.

Reds gain stability at the hot corner with Noelvi Marte surging

Fast forward just a few weeks, and the narrative has flipped dramatically. Now firmly reestablished on the Reds' major league roster, Marte is finally starting to resemble the prized prospect Cincinnati believed they were getting.

Across his first 13 games with the big league club in 2025, the 23-year-old is red-hot, slashing a scorching .370/.431/.696 with three home runs, 16 RBI, and four stolen bases. His 204 OPS+ is the best indicator yet that the setbacks haven’t broken him.

Naturally, some regression should be expected. Numbers like these are hard to sustain, especially for a young hitter still finding his footing at the highest level. But the results tell an undeniable story: Marte is thriving. And the growth he’s showing on the field reflects an even bigger transformation off of it. After a few painful lessons, Marte has gone back to basics, attacking the game with a level of maturity that the Reds’ organization — and their fans — had long hoped would emerge.

His resurgence could not have come at a better time for Cincinnati, particularly at third base. Veteran Jeimer Candelario, whom the Reds invested in during the offseason, is freezing cold at the plate, slashing just .113/.198/.411 through his early season appearances.

Noelvi Marte’s breakout might have saved the Reds from rushing Cam Collier and Sal Stewart

Marte’s hot bat relieves some of the pressure at the position, giving Cincinnati a productive everyday option while also buying valuable developmental time for top prospects Sal Stewart and Cam Collier. Both Stewart and Collier project as future big leaguers, but thanks to Marte’s emergence, the Reds can afford to stay patient — rather than rushing their prized talents to the majors before they're fully ready.

Perhaps most importantly, the Reds now hold an incredibly valuable asset in Marte for the long haul. With five additional seasons of team control, they have the rare luxury of watching a talented young infielder blossom with plenty of clock left on his future. If Marte continues to trend upward, Cincinnati could soon find itself facing the kind of "problem" a franchise can dream of: too much young, high-end talent to fit onto one infield.

For a team built around youth, resilience, and internal development, Noelvi Marte’s rise might just be the best sign yet that the Reds' vision is starting to take shape.

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