This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Marte suffered a nasal fracture from being hit by an errant warmup throw made by teammate Elly De La Cruz before a Sept. 9 game. He missed two games and three starts but carried an 11-game hitting streak into Sunday and a 17-game streak of reaching base.

“I’ve been playing really well. I haven’t really been thinking about my nose," Marte said via translator Jorge Merlos on Friday. "At the start, I was thinking about if the ball was going to hit me. I just kind of lost that and stopped thinking about it. The results have been there. If the ball comes at me or not, I know it’s not going to hit me.”

In 19 games in September, Marte is batting .368 with an .868 OPS, one home run and eight RBIs.

Marte, 21, no longer has the "raccoon eyes" from the injury, nor any fear. He opted not to wear a protective mask while playing to guard against contact with a ball -- or collision with another player.

“It hurts when I touch it. But whenever I’m out there, it doesn’t bother me at all," he said. "Why should I wear protection if I can defend myself with my hands? That’s why I decided not to wear it.”

Marte is ranked by MLB Pipeline as Cincinnati's No. 1 prospect, and No. 23 overall. His contributions have come during a pivotal stretch for the Reds as they are trying desperately to stay in the race for a National League Wild Card spot.

“I'm just honored to feel part of a team that has an opportunity to get to the postseason, which we’ve all wanted from Day 1," Marte said. "I know I can add just a little grain of sand to this pile and make sure we all get to where we need to go.”