Pirates Prospect Showing Great Power on Rehab Assignment
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh Pirates prospect is working back from an injury and has gone above and beyond what was expected of him from it.
Outfielder prospect Jhostynxon Garcia started his rehab assignment with Single-A Bradenton on May 1 and has swung the bat exactly as the Pirates would've hoped he did, with some great power so far.
Garcia has hit three home runs with Bradenton and slashed .278/.300/.833 for an OPS of 1.133 in five games on his rehab assignment, with five hits in 15 at-bats, four runs scored and six RBI.
It's an important development for Garcia, who is one of the top position player prospects in the Pirates farm system and someone they would love to see get going this season.
Looking at Garcia's Power With Bradenton
Garcia hit his first home run in his first game on the rehab assignment, a solo home run 111.9 mph off the bat and 441 feet for the go-ahead run in the 5-4 win over the Lakeland Tigers, the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, back on May 1.
It came off of slider over the plate from Lakeland right-handed pitcher Luke Hoskins that Garcia had no issue with for his first home run in the regular season.
His second home run came in his third game in the 3-2 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, on the road on May 5.
Garcia took a 93.2 mph four-seam fastball down the middle of the plate from Dunedin right-handed pitcher Dylan Watts and sent it 109.8 mph off the bat and 386 feet to left-center field for a solo home run to make it 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning.
His third home run came in his fifth and most recent game in the 6-0 win over Dunedin on May 8.
Garcia took a curveball down in the strike zone from Dunedin right-handed pitcher Noah Palmese and hit it 99.9 mph and 370 feet to right center field for a two-run home run to make it 6-0 in the top of the fourth inning.
Spring Training Gives Pirates High Hopes for Garcia
The Pirates acquired Garcia in a five-player trade with the Boston Red Sox back on Dec. 4, sending right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo the other way.
Pittsburgh added Garcia as a right-handed power bat with the potential for great success at PNC Park, particularly as someone who the team would have years of control over.
Garcia proved himself as one of the best hitters for the Pirates in Spring Training, slashing .405/.463/.595 for an OPS of 1.058 in 17 games, with 15 hits in 37 at-bats, a double, two home runs, five RBI and four walks to 10 strikeouts and three stolen bases.
That play made great impressions on the Pirates, including manager Don Kelly, an important time for Garcia to show what he's made of.
His great hitting from Spring Training didn't translate to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he slashed .158/.186/.175 for an OPS of .361 in 14 games, with nine hits in 57 at-bats, a double, three RBI, two walks to 17 strikeouts and no home runs.
Garcia soon ended up on the injured list on April 17 with lower back tightness and the Pirates will hope that once he's back fully healthy, he keeps producing at Triple-A, as he has done at Single-A.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.