Noelvi Marte’s Hot Start In a Hopeful Comeback Season

Former top prospect Noelvi Marte broke into the scene in 2023 where he slashed .316/.366/.456 for an .822 OPS and 118 OPS+ in 35 games, accumulating 0.8 bWAR. The following season was not so kind to him, as he served an 80 game PED suspension to begin the season, and never got off on the right foot afterwards, struggling on both sides of the ball.

Now coming into 2025, there were some minor concerns regarding the trajectory of his role on the team, and it certainly didn’t begin well seeing as he was optioned to Triple-A to start the year. However, ever since his call up, he has shined in his role, and it’s looking more and more like Marte is living up to his former top prospect pedigree.

Marte’ 2024 Struggles

As previously mentioned, Marte had a rough stretch throughout an extended run in 2024, slashing .210/.248/.301 for a .549 OPS and 50 OPS+ in 66 games. He struggled heavily on defense at the hot corner as well, making errors on routine plays that almost seemed mental, ending the season with -11 OAA, at the very bottom of the league (1st percentile).

Marte also struggled with a gaudy 31.0 K% and a minuscule 3.7 BB%, swinging and missing at 32.1% of pitches, and also chasing 37.1% of pitches outside of the zone. A rough stretch would be babying it a little, as it was all and all an awful sophomore season that never got started off on the right foot.

Marte’s 2025 Turnaround

Marte played the first 10 games of the season in Triple-A Louisville, where he he slashed an impressive .316/.386/.474 for an .860 OPS, earning him a much deserved call-up. He came off the bench in his first few games back in the big leagues, making fans question the decision to bring him up just to sit him and potentially get him out of rhythm.

However, with Jeimer Candelario performing like quite literally the worst player in baseball ( .113/.198/.213, 13 OPS+), Marte has gotten some burn as the starting third baseman.

In 12 games in the big leagues this year, Marte is slashing .364/.404/.659 for a 1.063 OPS and a 188 OPS+. He’s slugged three home runs already, compared to four in 66 games last season. He’s also accumulated 0.5 bWAR, compared to -1.8 bWAR in 2024. Marte is off to one of the hottest stretches in his young career, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for both him and the Reds.

Marte’s Role and Expectations

The expectation is not for Marte to continue his 1.000 OPS (although that would be great), but for him to hopefully handle third base while hitting at a respective level. Many forget that he is still a 23-year-old with less than a full season’s worth of games at the big-league level under his belt.

Despite it being just a 12-game sample size, he has surely turned around a disaster of a 2024 season. He will hope to build upon this hot start and develop into the player the organization knows he can be.