Jhostynxon Garcia must have missed the memo about “Nothing Night” in Louisville, because he kind of did everything at the dish on Tuesday.
The Pirates’ No. 5 prospect hammered three homers on a five-hit night -- both career highs -- in Triple-A Indianapolis' 10-8 victory over the Bats at Louisville Slugger Field. The contest marked Garcia’s first game back with the Indians since landing on the injured list with lower-back tightness on April 14.
Louisville planned its “Nothing Night” promotion as an homage to the purest form of baseball. No ad reads. No music. Just a ballgame and a scoreboard. And Garcia took that a step further with another age-old tradition -- the mashing of monster dingers.
All three of the 23-year-old's long balls were absolutely crushed off left-hander Brandon Leibrandt (Reds). He opened the barrage by hammering a high and outside changeup for a 107.3 mph, 437-foot moonshot in the first.
Garcia followed that up with two more sizzling homers in his next two at-bats -- a 109.9 mph, 393-foot jack in the third and a 113.5 mph, 374-foot laser in the fifth.
The third homer was the hardest-hit ball of Garcia’s career, per Statcast.
COMPLETE PIRATES PROSPECT COVERAGE
After starting the season with a dismal .158/.186/.175 slash line across 14 games before landing on the shelf, Garcia has found his footing this month. The Venezuela native homered three times and collected eight knocks over six contests while rehabbing with Single-A Bradenton and now has six homers through seven games.
Acquired from the Red Sox as part of the deal that sent right-hander Johan Oviedo to Boston in December, Garcia projects to crack the Pirates’ outfield at some point in 2026. He was in consideration to do so out of Spring Training after posting a 1.058 OPS over 17 games, but was edged out and sent to Triple-A.
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At 6 feet and 224 pounds, Garcia possesses plus pop at the dish and a strong arm in the outfield. Last season he swatted 21 homers, leading Boston’s system for the second consecutive year. He finished the campaign with a .267/.340/.470 slash line, 79 runs and 75 RBIs over 114 games.
Three homers and five hits in his first game back at Triple-A? It’s safe to say Garcia isn't going to let Pirates fans forget “The Password.”