Jose Garcia was one of the few Cincinnati Reds prospects that took a step forward in 2019. And he took a pretty big step forward, too. The shortstop led the Florida State League with 37 doubles despite missing most of April. He finished in the top 10 in both slugging and OPS in the league while also hitting .280. Oh yeah, he also stole 15 bases and was caught just twice. The Reds wanted to give him some more time on the field, so they decided to send the 21-year-old Cuban out to the Arizona Fall League.
Saturday night was a big night for the infielder. Garcia led off the bottom of the first with a double. He would steal third and then later score on a wild pitch. The next time he came to the plate he was hit by a pitch. Like the previous time he reached base, Garcia stole the bag in front of him. He wouldn’t score this time around, though.
In the 5th inning Jose Garcia drew a walk. After a pitching change he welcomed the new pitcher to the game by crushing a solo home run, his first of the Arizona Fall League season, into left-center field. He would strike out in the bottom of the 9th inning. Still, he finished the game 2-3 with a double, home run, walk, hit by a pitch, two runs scored, and he stole two bases. He’s hitting .263/.364/.474 through five games played.
Jose Garcia was the only Reds prospect in the lineup. On the mound it was Cory Thompson who was the lone Cincinnati prospect to make an appearance in the game. He entered the game in the 6th inning and struck out the side, working around a 1-out triple to keep his inning a shutout one. This was his first scoreless appearance of the Arizona Fall League season (three appearances).