Major league Marte: A Star(ling) is born

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Wednesday evening that the team plans to promote wunderkind outfield prospect Starling Marte to the major leagues on Thursday, prior to the start of a four-game series against the Astros in Houston.

With Josh Bell injured, Starling Marte is Pittsburgh's top-ranked positional prospect. (Bill Gentry)

Marte will become the second key player to leave the Indianapolis Indians, who at 65-41 have the best record in the International League. Left-handed starter Rudy Owens was dealt to the Astros on Tuesday night in a trade for major league southpaw starter Wandy Rodriguez.

Owens had gone 8-5 in 19 starts for Indianapolis, posting a 3.14 ERA.

As MLB.com Pirates beat writer Tom Singer noted on Wednesday afternoon -- prior to the announcement of Marte's impending call-up -- Rodriguez becomes a Dominican presence in the Pittsburgh clubhouse, possibly making the transition easier for the outfielder, a fellow Dominican Republic native.

Marte went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in his last game with the Indians, a 4-2 loss to the Pawtucket Red Sox. The hit extended Marte's current hitting streak to five games, during which he batted .409 (9-for-22) with three doubles, one home run, five RBI and three runs scored.

The outfielder's longest hitting streak with the Indians spanned 15 games between June 25 and the first game of a double header on July 12. During that stretch, Marte went 26-for-65 (.400) and collected three doubles, four triples, three home runs, 16 RBI and scored 13 runs.

A promotion had been much-anticipated for Marte, who started the season as the Tribe's everyday center fielder but had began to move around the outfield of late. He has also moved into the No. 3 hole in the Indianapolis batting order, where he batted .291 in 57 games.

Marte came into the season ranked as Pittsburgh's No. 4 prospect by Baseball America. The same publication also rated him as the system's Best Hitter for Average and Best Athlete, and as having the organization's Best Outfield Arm, which Marte confirmed with eight outfield assists for the Indians.

At the time his coming promotion was announced, Marte was batting .286 in 99 games for Indianapolis and had amassed 21 doubles, 13 triples, 12 home runs, 62 RBI, 64 runs scored and 21 stolen bases. He ranked in the top five in the IL in games played, at bats (388), hits (111), extra-base hits (46), total bases (194), RBI, runs scored and stolen bases. Additionally, Marte's 13 triples led all of Minor League Baseball.

Marte will obviously leave a gaping hole in the Indianapolis lineup, but he could prove to be a boon for the Pirates as Pittsburgh looks to secure its first playoff appearance in nearly two decades.

Fans and members of the media have been clamoring for Marte's promotion nearly the entire season, since the uber-prospect batted .520 (13-for-25) with three home runs in 12 Grapefruit League games during spring training.

Michael Raines writes for indyindians.com and can be reached at therainesdelay@gmail.com. You can follow him (www.twitter.com/Michael__Raines) and/or Tom Singer (www.twitter.com/Tom_Singer) on Twitter.