Reds shortstop Jose Barrero gets the monkey off his back with his 1st career home run

It has been a long and arduous road for Jose Barrero. The Cincinnati Reds shortstop, after scuffling for the majority of the 2022 down at Triple-A Louisville, was called up to the big leagues last Wednesday.

To the dismay of several fans, Barrero supplanted Kyle Farmer at shortstop. Farmer was moved to third base in order to the Reds front office and coaching staff to get a long look at Barrero over the next two months.

The decision to hand the reigns over to Jose Barrero was not without controversy. After all, Farmer had filled in admirably for the Reds at shortstop since last summer. But the time had come to see if Barrero could actually live up to the hype.

Jose Barrero's 2 home runs give Reds fans a glimpse of what could be.

Heading into Saturday's game in Milwaukee, Jose Barrero was 0-for-6 since the call-up and had struck out three times. The Ks had been a problem down in Louisville as well.

But Barrero was able to exhale after one swing of the bat in the fourth inning. With Albert Almora Jr. having reached base on a walk, Barrero stepped into the batters' box for his second at-bat of the evening. He had flied out to left in his previous AB.

Barrero launched a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left-center field and into the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen. The ball was blistered off the bat at 105.0 mph and travelled 408 feet according to Baseball Savant.

But the young Reds shortstop wan't done. In his next at-bat to lead off the sixth inning, Barrero hit his second home run of the game and his career with a towering blast over the wall in left field. That one had an exit velocity of 98.4 mph and sailed 389 feet.

Was this just a good night for Jose Barreo or a sign of things to come? That remains to be seen. But with the monkey now off his back, perhaps the 24-year-old can settle into his role as the Cincinnati Reds starting shortstop.