Reds call up top prospect Noelvi Marte

The Cincinnati Reds are graduating another one of their prized prospects.

The Reds called up infielder Noelvi Marte on Saturday ahead of their game with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Marte wasn't in the Reds' lineup Saturday due to travel issues. However, he's expected to get plenty of playing time as the team's primary third baseman over the last six weeks of the season, manager David Bell said, according to Allie Kaylor of MLB.com.

"When I was told that I was making the big leagues, it felt like I was born again," Marte said via an interpreter. "We're back to zero now, and I'm hungry. I'm even hungrier now than I was before. And I'll keep fighting as hard as I can to stay up here."

Acquired last season in a blockbuster trade that sent Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners, Marte is the top prospect in the Reds' system and the 24th-ranked prospect in MLB, according to MLB.com.

Marte has spent the season split across three minor-league levels but most recently played in Triple-A Louisville. He hit .280/.365/.455 with three home runs, 10 doubles, and eight stolen bases in 39 games while playing third base with the Bats.

Cincinnati has enjoyed a youth movement this season, as Marte will become the eighth rookie position player to suit up for the club, joining other notables Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.