Ketel Marte Makes it to Majors

Minneapolis, Minn. - The Seattle Mariners announced that infielder Ketel Marte would be joining the big league club prior to the team's game against the Minnesota Twins Friday night. Marte, who excelled with Jackson in 2014, becomes the third member of that team to make his Major League debut this season.

Marte, 21, hit .314 with 41 runs, 12 doubles, two triples, three homers and 20 steals in 65 game with Triple-A Tacoma this season. He currently ranks ninth in the Pacific Coast League in hitting.

He got off to a red-hot start, hitting .343 in 51 games before an injury at the end of May forced him to the disabled list for more than a month. Marte returned to Jackson for two games as part of his rehab in early July, recording a trio of hits against Birmingham July 10. Shortly thereafter, he participated in the MLB All-Star Futures Game in Cincinnati and the Triple-A All-Star Game in Omaha.

Marte spent most of 2014 with the Generals, posting a .302 average, 27 doubles, six triples, and two homers in 109 games. He was both a Mid-Season and a Postseason All-Star, and MiLB.com named him an organizational All-Star at the age of 20.

He entered the season as Seattle's third-ranked prospect according to Baseball America. His strong season propelled him up the rankings, as he checked in among the top 100 prospects in baseball in the midseason rankings for both Baseball America (No. 50) and MLB.com (No. 71).

Marte becomes the third member of the 2014 Jackson team to make his MLB debut this year. Lefty Tyler Olson broke camp with the Mariners, pitching two-thirds of an inning on April 7 in his first Major League outing. Reliever Mayckol Guaipe has pitched for Seattle three times this year, with his debut coming June 1 against the Yankees.