Noelvi Marte earns International League Player of the Week after scorching Iowa series

Noelvi Marte turned a six-game trip to Des Moines into a loud reminder that his bat belongs in the big-league conversation. The Louisville Bats outfielder was named International League Player of the Week for April 20-26 after powering a 4-2 series win over the Iowa Cubs, Louisville’s first series victory at Principal Park since 2021.

Marte’s week was overwhelming from the start. He hit .560 with 14 hits in 25 at-bats against Iowa, added two home runs, three RBI, seven runs scored and six stolen bases in five games, and he reached base and ran with impact every night. He had multiple hits and at least one steal in every game he played in the series, a stretch that made the award feel less like a hot-streak honor than a sign of a hitter in complete command.

The bigger picture has looked just as strong since the Reds optioned Marte to Louisville on April 13 after a 4-for-29 start in Cincinnati. In 10 games with the Bats, he has hit .452, going 19-for-42 with two homers, 11 runs, three doubles, a triple and six steals. At the time of the club release, he ranked first in the International League in batting average, hits and total bases, while sitting near the top of the league in OPS, slugging, runs and on-base percentage. Those numbers suggest a player doing more than riding a temporary heater.

The Iowa series gave the clearest snapshot. Marte homered on consecutive days to open the set, then delivered three hits and a double in Friday’s win before finishing the week with four hits, three runs and two stolen bases in Sunday’s 12-6 clincher. Louisville’s offense kept leaning on him, and he kept answering, helping the Bats secure a second straight road series victory to open the 2026 season.

For the Reds, the question now is how quickly Marte can turn Triple-A dominance into a path back to Cincinnati. Terry Francona said after the April 12 loss to the Angels that Marte was “having a tough time” and looked like he was “trying to hit everything,” a blunt snapshot of why the organization sent him down to reset. Marte has responded with the kind of production that forces another look.

This was Marte’s fifth career weekly award and his first since 2023, when he won twice in the Southern League. He also picked up honors in the High-A Northwest League in 2022 and the Single-A California League in 2021, a track record that followed him from the Seattle Mariners organization to the Reds in the July 30, 2022 Luis Castillo trade. After making his major league debut on August 19, 2023 and appearing in last year’s Wild Card Series, Marte is again showing how quickly he can make Louisville feel temporary.