The two shortstops acquired were the Mariners’ top two prospects. In Baseball America’s most recent Top 100 prospects list updated last week, Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo were both in the top 50. Marte was ranked 47th and Arroyo was right behind him ranked 48th. The two pitchers were both rated as Top 30 prospects in the Mariners organization, with Levi Stoudt coming in at #10 in the midseason update and Andrew Moore at #26 on the list.
Noelvi Marte Scouting Report
Short stop Height: 6′ 1″ | Weight: 187 lbs. Born: October 16, 2001 A big bonus out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, Noelvi Marte has moved up to High-A in recent seasons. The 20-year-old has hit well in Everett, posting a .275/.363/.462 line this season with 19 doubles, 15 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 85 games. He has walked 42 times and has 84 strikeouts in 394 plate appearances. He has an above-average hit tool and plus-plus raw power, a rarity coming from a potential shortstop of the future. There are some concerns that he might need to move to third base on the line as his body matures, as he’s already added plenty of size over the years and he’s still only 20. That won’t be too much of a concern, though, as his arm will play easily at third base if he has to slide, and his bat has more than enough potential to stand out there if he’s able to continue his development. It’s been on fire the past five weeks in Everett. Since June 22nd he has hit .365/.440/.669 with 15 walks and 20 strikeouts in 134 plate appearances. You can see his career stats here.
Edwin Arroyo Scouting Report
Short stop Height: 6′ 0″ | Weight: 175 lbs. Born: August 25, 2003 Last year’s 2nd round pick for the Mariners, Edwin Arroyo crushed the ball this season for Low-A Modesto while just 18 years old. He is hitting .315/.384/.513 with 18 doubles, 7 triples, 13 home runs, 21 stolen bases, 34 walks and 89 strikeouts in 410 plate appearances. The switch hitter has been better from the left side this season, hitting .329/.396/.520, but has also hit well from the right side of the plate, posting a .276/.351/.494 line in 97 plate appearances. Unlike Marte, there don’t seem to be any concerns about Arroyo outgrowing the position. Considered a plus defender at shortstop with a plus arm. Shows above average raw power and an above average hit tool. Arroyo was also quite successful on the basepaths where he used his above-average speed well. You can see his career stats here.
Levi Stoudt Scouting Report
Right handed pitcher Height: 6′ 1″ | Weight: 195 lbs. Born: December 4, 1997 A 3rd round pick in 2019, Levi Stoudt didn’t play in a pro game that counted until 2021. He had Tommy John surgery after the draft and with the 2020 season canceled, there were no games for him when he was ready to return on the mound until the 2021 season begins. He has struggled to find any consistency this season, and after a solid start to the year through the first two months, has posted a 6.98 ERA since early June, raising his season ERA to 5. 28 in his 87.0 innings. He has kept the walks low, handing out just 22 free passes to go along with his 82 strikeouts. Fastball: The pitch runs in the mid 90’s and has touched the upper 90’s on a regular basis this season. Splitter: Arguably his best offering, it’s an above-average pitch in the low to mid-80s that’s a good move. Slider: An average offering in the mid-80s most of the time, will flash above average every now and then. Curveball: A stylish offering that works in the mid-70s. There’s good control from Stoudt, but the command isn’t always there and when he’s missing this year the players haven’t let him get away. There are some positives here with the potential for three above-average pitches with good control, and the alternate could be a high-leverage reliever. You can see his career stats here.
Andrew Moore Scout Report
Right handed pitcher Height: 6′ 5″ | Weight: 205 lbs Born: August 11, 1999 Not to be confused with Andrew Moore who played in the big leagues for Seattle a few seasons ago, this Moore was drafted last season in the 14th round out of Chipola Junior College (the same school Cam Collier attended this season). In 2021 he struggled with his control once he turned pro, walking 18 batters with 16 strikeouts in 19.1 innings – mostly at Low-A Modesto. This season he’s back there, and while he’s still walking a few too many hitters, he’s dominated otherwise. In 32.1 innings he posted a 1.95 ERA and allowed 25 hits, walked 17, and struck out 58 of the 133 batters he faced. Fastball: Runs in the mid-90s and has touched 100 MPH. Slider: An above-average offering that runs in the mid-80s. He will need to continue to work on improving his control as he moves up the ladder, but things will play out. You can see his career stats here.
Instant reaction
I hate this trade, but I think it was a good return. How does this sentence make sense? Well, I’ll do my best to explain. Baseball has been set up in a way that you no longer have to try to win baseball games to make money. It used to be like that. Teams used to need gates big enough to cover all their expenses because media contracts and sponsorship deals just weren’t big enough to bring in much of the revenue, but those days are long gone. Now teams make a lot of money between local and national television contracts, and that means ticket sales are a much smaller percentage of their revenue. This means winning and losing means less money to make. Cincinnati is currently in its second rebuild in the last decade, and the current economic situation makes this palpable. This is why I hate trading. The Reds traded away one of the best starting pools they’ve had in three decades because it makes more sense for them to try and not win next season. With that hype out of the way, in the market as it is in baseball today, it appears that the four prospects the Reds got in this deal was a quality return and probably more than many would have expected. Acquiring two top 50 prospects in baseball would be a deal that I would consider a return that was a little better than I expected given the market over the last few years. That they got this, as well as two other live guns, seems like a good deal in the current market period.
