Starling Marte: Pirates Prospect Hits Home Run on 1st MLB Pitch of His Career

Starling Marte joined the Pittsburgh Pirates and hit his first major-league home run on Thursday night. His arrival has been eagerly anticipated among Pirates fans for weeks, and it took him one pitch to show he was worth the wait.

Marte led off the game for Pittsburgh in his major-league debut against Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel made the mistake of leaving a mid-80s cutter over the middle of the plate, and Marte hammered the ball (watch it here).

According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Michael Sanserino, Marte is the first Pirate to hit a homer in his first career at-bat since 1961. The fact that it was the first pitch makes this instance even sweeter.

In 98 Triple-A games this year Marte hit .286 with 12 home runs and 61 RBI. He also stole 21 bases. Last season he won the Eastern League's batting title with Double-A Altoona. He's progressed at each minor league level and, at age 23, he still has room to grow.

He's not a patient hitter, and may not be a long-term leadoff option, but he will be a fixture in Pittsburgh's lineup for the foreseeable future.

The Pirates are in the middle of a remarkable campaign. They are currently atop the NL Wild Card race and are nipping at Cincinnati's heels for the NL Central lead.

Marte's presence gives Pittsburgh another capable bat and adds even more excitement to the tremendous buzz surrounding this year's squad.

His home run Thursday night did nothing to quell those notions.

Marte will be expected to start in left field until further notice. He could eventually move out of the lead-off role, but that's probably going to be his lineup spot for the remainder of the season.

The Pirates need Marte to be a table-setter for Neil Walker and NL MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen in the middle of their batting order. Marte's ability to get on base will determine the number of RBI opportunities Pittsburgh's power hitters are given.

If they want to stick in the pennant race they need to continue scoring enough to support their excellent pitching staff.

Marte is going to be a big part of that, and Thursday night's blast shows he's confident in his ability to contribute right away.