Noelvi Marte's Winter League performance is giving the Reds a reason to stay patient

One of the reasons that the Cincinnati Reds are in the position they're in now is the failure of many of their young players to develop as expected. A team like the Reds needs to have a consistent funnel of talent coming up from the minor leagues, and with Sal Stewart and Chase Burns as notable exceptions, the young talents have flopped when given an opportunity.

There's no greater example of this than Noelvi Marte, who has been expected to be the next big thing for four years running, yet has frequently fallen flat on his face. For six weeks to close out the 2023 season, a then-21-year-old Marte looked like a future superstar, slashing .316/.366/.456 with three homers and six steals over 123 plate appearances.

But then the youngster kicked off 2024 with an 80-game PED suspension. He struggled mightily in his return, striking out 31% of the time. In 2025, he showed some tepid progress. Marte hit .263/.300/.448 while transitioning from third base to right field on the fly. Those good feelings were erased in 2026, however.

Marte has struggled in the outfield, but those issues pale in comparison to how brutal he was at the plate this year. The former top prospect managed a career-worst .189/.229/.321line and was demoted to Louisville twice, the second and final time coming after the August 17 doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Now, Marte is back in his home country of the Dominican Republic, playing winter ball for LIDOM's Gigantes del Cibao, and he's giving Reds fans reason to dream again.

Noelvi Marte turning the corner would be a huge boost for the Cincinnati Reds

Over 12 games and 55 plate appearances, Marte is hitting a sizzling .360/.382/.480 with one homer and eight RBI. It's a small sample, and it's not the highest level of competition, though LIDOM does have several big leaguers in Marte's position — guys trying to salvage their careers, on rosters throughout the league. Occasionally, you'll find a true star toiling down there, too.

What that stat line should remind you of is the tools that Marte possesses. He posts well-above-average bat speed, and in 2023 that translated to exceptional hard-hit rates and exit velocities. He has 93rd percentile arm strength and 91st percentile sprint speed. These are things you can't teach.

What you can teach is plate discipline and pitch recognition, two big issues that neuter Marte's impressive swing velocity and, ultimately, his performance at the plate. You can also teach outfield positioning and how to read fly balls and take solid routes, and if he can figure those things out, Marte could actually be a plus defensive outfielder.

It's important to remember that while it feels like he's been around forever, Marte just turned 25 on October 16. Some prospects are just debuting now, and he's got parts of four major league seasons under his belt.

At the same time, Marte is still very cheap and controllable. In part due to his PED suspension, he'll still be making the league minimum in 2027, and he's under team control through 2030. As bad as things have been at times, there's still no reason to give up on him yet.

Cincinnati's projected 2027 outfield is slated to be extremely left-handed. You have Héctor Rodriguez, Carlos Jorge, and JJ Bleday all in line to get regular playing time. Any and all of those three could use a right-handed caddie.

If Marte's showing in winter ball continues and can be a jumping-off point, he could rise to be that platoon partner, and while rotating through multiple spots, could get near starter-level playing time. And if that ends up being what happens, that means it's all started to click, and the tools are translating to production. That's the ultimate goal, and despite the winding road to get to that point, it would be a huge win for the Reds.

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