Cincinnati Reds: Four options to play shortstop in 2021

2. Jose Garcia

If you haven’t heard of Jose Garcia, his name should find its way onto your radar. In 2019, the Reds top shortstop prospect finally had the type of season the front office was expecting. Garcia slashed .280/.343/.436 while playing 104 games at Advanced-A Daytona. If Garcia has similar success this season, he could end 2020 at Triple-A Louisville with an eye toward the bigs in 2021.

While so many fans throughout Reds Country have been clamoring for Cincinnati to make a trade for Francisco Lindor, the Reds front office may be eyeing the evolution of one of their own. Obviously Garcia has a long road ahead to reach the level of Lindor, but the Reds didn’t throw $5M at the Cuban infielder during the 2016-17 signing period for nothing.

Garcia struggled during his first year in the professional ranks. In 2018, Garcia played 125 games for Single-A Dayton, slashing .245/.290/.344. However, last year with Advanced-A Daytona, Garcia found his stroke. The 21-year-old put up a slash line of .280/.343/.436 with 8 home runs and 55 RBIs. That’s the type of progress that Cincinnati’s front office was hoping to see.

Jose Garcia played in the Arizona Fall League and received an invite to big league camp with the Reds this spring. While there’s little-to-no chance that Garcia makes the roster out of Goodyear, just receiving an invite and getting some Cactus League games under his belt is a plus for the young shortstop.

Much like Tyler Stephenson, Garcia has the makings of a young prospect looking to take the reigns at the major league level in the near future. Currently ranked No. 9 in the farm system according to MLB Pipeline, another solid season could see Garcia knocking on the door of the bigs as early as next season.