This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BOSTON – With a first name so unique to spell that many people refer to him as “The Password”, Jhostynxon Garcia has unlocked some things of his own this season to vault his prospect status.
The right-handed hitting outfielder will represent the Red Sox at the 2025 All-Star Futures Game, which will be played at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 12.
The 22-year-old is the No. 4 prospect in Boston’s system per MLB Pipeline.
“Very excited for Jhostynxon,” said Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham. “Whenever players are rewarded externally and or nationally due to strong play and development, it's a ton of credit to the player and the coaches that work with him every day. Very pleased with the progress he has made and the impact he is having so far in Triple-A.”
After putting up a slash line of .256/.355/.393 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 117 at-bats with Double-A Portland, Garcia got to test his skills out at the level closest to the Major Leagues with Triple-A Worcester.
Through his first 34 games for Worcester, Garcia has improved his production, slashing .293/.367/.571 while belting nine homers to go with 24 RBIs.
“He has transitioned incredibly well, limiting chase, driving pitches in the zone that he can do damage to -- on top of continuing to play plus defense no matter where he is in the outfield,” Abraham said.
Signed out of Venezuela as an international free agent on July 2, 2019, Garcia made steady progress before taking a significant step forward in ‘24, putting up an .892 OPS and 23 homers across three different affiliates.
The upward trajectory has continued this season.
“He has improved in some of the areas that we had circled as areas of focus -- his chase percentage, zone contact -- and continued improved physicality and added weight and strength to help him in all phases,” said Abraham.
While a power bat always stands out, Garcia offers an intriguing all-around game.
“He's a plus defender in all three outfield spots,” Abraham said. “He has a good first step with range and a strong arm. His natural instincts and feel for the grass allows him to track down balls with ease. He is also a very good baserunner -- steals the occasional bag, but takes advantage of dirt balls, balls in the gap, or any chance to advance. He does the little things well and has a high baseball acumen.”
Though Garcia struggled (1-for-21, no walks, 10 strikeouts) this past Spring Training, he still made a good impression on Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
“We saw him in Spring Training, and we didn’t see the best version offensively,” Cora said. “He was in between and mechanics wise, he was off, but the way he played the outfield was eye opening. And that's the good thing about these [top prospects for the Red Sox]. We talk about their offense all the time, but I think they're complete players. They're good baserunners, good defenders, which is the most important thing. You don't want to get just a hitter here to the big leagues.”
There is no questioning Garcia’s size and strength, which leads to plenty of raw power. But there are still some key areas of development left.
“Improving his chase percentage and zone contact are big ones,” Abraham said. “He swings the bat fast and hits the ball hard when he swings at pitches in the heart of the plate -- so doing that consistently will allow for success.”