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Kansas City Royals: Prospect to Watch, Yunior Marte

By Morgan Vogels

KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 13: A detail of an Opening Day logo on a base prior to the start of the Kansas City Royals home opener against the Cleveland Indians on April 13, 2012 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 13: A detail of an Opening Day logo on a base prior to the start of the Kansas City Royals home opener against the Cleveland Indians on April 13, 2012 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Aside from the Kansas City Royals top 30 prospects, there are some other talented players waiting for their chance in the big leagues. Yunior Marte is one of those players, and he currently is with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

Yunior Marte is having a great season for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. The right handed relief pitcher is not on the Kansas City Royals list of top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. But, with the year he is putting together, he may find himself getting a call up to a higher level soon.

The 23 year old is a native of Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic.

His Progression

Marte began his career with the Dominican Summer League Royals in 2013. In his 47.1 innings of work, he yielded an ERA of 1.71. He struggled the next few seasons, with Burlington and Lexington.

He was promoted to Wilmington in 2017, where he earned an ERA of 2.23 in 36.1 innings. From there, he was called up to the Naturals, where he has remained.

Scouting Report

Early in his career, he pitched both in starting situations, as well as a few relief appearances. He has completely transitioned into a bullpen role for the 2018 season. And it’s boding well for him.

In 2018, he has pitched in 27 games for a total of 51.2 innings. His 2.96 ERA is accompanied by a K/9 rate of 9.60. His BB/9 rate sits at 3.62 on the season, which is high, but he has time to improve on that.

He has accumulated the most innings by a reliever for the Naturals this season, the fifth most out of all of the squad’s pitchers. His statistics are impressive, plus he has the ability to tally multiple innings in a game. The amount of use he is getting suggests that his manager trusts him, which is huge for relievers outside of the top 30.

Next: Justin Grimm waived

He could eventually filter into the Kansas City Royals bullpen as a middle innings reliever. If Yunior Marte can keep up this caliber of play for the rest of the season, he may find himself a part of the rebuilt bullpen at some point in the 2019 season.

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