Confident Garcia Dialing In 

(By Josh Romans/Louisville Bats)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Top prospect Jose Garcia knows he is the Cincinnati Reds’ shortstop of the future.

In fact, his confidence he will reach that milestone goes further back than you might think.

“I have always felt that way,” Garcia said through a translator. “Growing up and being the son of a former professional player, I knew that I was learning from the best, and I had a lot of confidence in my ability. I always believed that I would one day be a big leaguer.”

The fact that he was able to get a taste of "the show” in 2020 was validation of his confidence. Being able to tally his first Major League hit in his very first at-bat made it that much sweeter.

“When I got to first base, I was very happy and relieved,” he said when asked to comment on his achievement. “I felt like all of my hard work had paid off and my dreams came true in that moment.”

However, 2020 was anything but an ordinary season for baseball. “It was very weird to see empty seats and not hear any cheers or boos when I got my first hit,” he admitted. “But I thank God that it worked out.”

While he was unable to start the season in Cincinnati, he is working as hard as ever to make his way back up to the big league squad. Call them “scrimmages” or “practice games” if you want, for Garcia, it’s all about making quality reps day in and day out.

“I think these (scrimmage) games are very important. These are great opportunities for me to work on a variety of things and do my best to rejoin the big league club as soon as possible. I have been working on my hitting a lot, trying to slow everything down, and I think I will be ready to go after that.”

He then went into some detail about the variety of drills that he has been working on to ensure he makes the most of the scrimmage games as a learning opportunity. He discussed how he typically changes his batting cage drills day to day to focus on things that he felt needed improvement.

Garcia also made sure to mention that he had not been neglecting his defensive game either. Channeling a veteran perspective, he said his work in the field is about staying “consistent on routine plays.”

Put it all together, you have the Reds’ top prospect dialed in to make a lasting impression in the majors. And that timing could be sooner rather than later.

When asked what will make his upcoming season a success, Garcia didn’t hesitate in his reply.

“Whenever I make it to the big league club again and I am doing everything that I know I can do at the highest level of baseball, that’s when I will be able to call 2021 a success.”