Cincinnati Reds fans have long been waiting for Noelvi Marte to break through, and it’s finally happening.
The 23-year-old third baseman has been red hot in recent weeks, emerging as one of the team’s most dependable bats during the Wild Card push.
His value extends beyond the box score too, as he’s gained league-wide respect for his willingness to adapt—shifting to the outfield when asked in order to give the Reds more flexibility in their lineup.
For a player once viewed with uncertainty, Marte’s resurgence feels like validation.
His path has been anything but easy, marked by an 80-game PED suspension in 2024 and repeated stints between the majors and minors.
But since July 1, he has turned a corner, posting a .303/.335/.520 slash line with seven homers and 23 RBIs—a breakout stretch that finally makes him look like the impact hitter the Reds envisioned when acquiring him in the Luis Castillo trade.
Marte’s revival is also a broader lesson in patience.
Player development in MLB rarely follows a straight line, and the Reds have other young talents worth waiting on.
Matt McLain, returning from a lost 2024 season due to shoulder surgery, has struggled at the plate this year (.221/.300/.331, 11 HR, 40 RBI, -0.1 WAR) even though his glove remains steady.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand has had an even tougher year, hitting poorly enough to be demoted back to Triple-A to regain confidence despite still flashing power against minor-league pitching.
Noelvi Marte
Still, McLain’s 2023 rookie breakout showed his ceiling, and CES’s raw tools remain promising—it’s a question of consistency, not talent.
Marte’s turnaround proves that sometimes a player just needs time to adjust, overcome setbacks, and rediscover what once made them a top prospect.
He’s doing exactly that, and if McLain and Encarnacion-Strand can follow his lead, the Reds’ future could be far brighter than it looks today.
