Sunday, August 31

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.

More on the Futures Game
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• History | Complete coverage

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.”

Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman reached a significant milestone on Wednesday when he picked up career save No. 350 in a 5-3 victory over the Reds.

Not only is Chapman compiling numbers at age 37, but he is doing it in dominant fashion.

His three-pitch strikeout (all swings) of blossoming Reds star Elly De La Cruz was worth watching. Chapman fired three straight heaters at 97.1 mph, 99.6 and 101.3.

Chapman became the 14th pitcher in history to reach the 350-save milestone (since saves became an official stat in 1969). Kenley Jansen, Boston’s closer the last two seasons, is the only other active pitcher to be in that company.

The lefty joined Hall of Famer Billy Wagner and John Franco as the only lefties with 350 or more saves.

Hours before he started his Minor League rehab assignment on Wednesday, images surfaced on social media of Masataka Yoshida getting work in at first base during pregame drills at Triple-A Worcester.

Cora explained the development.

“Just taking ground balls, getting accustomed to it, just in case there’s an emergency,” Cora said. “He's been doing it for a while. He just hasn't done it here, but it's something we asked him to do. And he was like, 'Yeah, I'll do it.' Right away, he ordered his first baseman's mitt, and five minutes later, he started taking ground balls.”

But don’t make too much of it.

“I don't anticipate him starting at first base, but if something crazy happens, at least he can catch throws and knock down a ground ball,” said Cora.

While the Red Sox have had a hard time sustaining momentum, their schedule over the next week provides a chance to gain on their competitors in the standings.

After Thursday’s day off, the Red Sox (43-45) travel to Washington D.C. to face the Nationals (36-50). Then it’s back to Fenway at the start of next week for a three-game series against the Rockies (19-67).

Once those six games are over, Boston returns to fierce competition as the Rays (48-39) come in for four games leading into the All-Star break. And there’s no letup after the break as the Red Sox will go to Wrigley Field for a three-game set against the Cubs (51-35), followed by three in Philadelphia (51-36). And the first home series after the break, the Dodgers (54-32) come to town.

“Every series is important for us,” said Cora. “We’re getting there, and [Wednesday], we had a great chance to sweep [the Reds] and to have a great doubleheader. We’ve just got to reset tomorrow and be ready for Friday.”

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