HOUSTON — Red Sox star rookie outfielder Roman Anthony first met Jhostynxon Garcia, nicknamed “The Password,” in August 2022.
“When I was freshly drafted as an 18 year old, he was there,” Anthony said before Boston’s game against Houston on Monday. “And so he’s always been a good buddy of mine.”
Garcia — who received his nickname from a social media user because his first name “is reminiscent of a password” — is arguably the top position player prospect in the Red Sox system now that Anthony has graduated from prospect status. The 22-year-old Garcia and 19-year-old shortstop prospect Franklin Arias are neck and neck.
Garcia and Arias are both ranked on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list, Arias at No. 51 and Garcia at No. 79. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Arias No. 8 and Garcia No. 46 on his Top 50 prospect list that ran May 29.
Garcia, a powerful right-handed hitter, led all Red Sox minor leaguers in home runs (23) last year. He again leads the system this year with 19.
He’s batting .298 with a .367 on-base percentage, .571 slugging percentage, .938 OPS, 16 homers, 11 doubles, three triples and 49 RBIs in 60 games (267 plate appearances) for Triple-A Worcester. He began the season at Double-A Portland before earning a promotion May 20.
Garcia had yet to be nicknamed “The Password” when he and Anthony met. The Red Sox officially signed Anthony on July 29, 2022, then assigned him to the Florida Complex League Red Sox 11 days later where he became Garcia’s teammate.
“He’s fun to watch because in today’s game it’s a lot of people just (wanting) to see homers,” Anthony said. “And I think with him, if you watch him long enough, he hits a lot of home runs, he hits a lot of doubles, he takes walks, he finds a ways on, he’ll steal a bag. He’s just a fun player to watch. If you go to the ballpark, you’ll go home and you’ll know who he is.”
The Password has embraced his nickname, wearing a Password T-shirt around the Worcester clubhouse. He’s known for his distinctive long hair and ever-present smile. He has a chance to become a fan favorite because of both his style of play and personality.
“Everything he does is fun,” Anthony said. “And it’s great for the game, the way the game’s shifted.
“He’s always tried to interact with everybody and be that clubhouse guy that everyone loves,” Anthony added. “And I think when you do that, that means more than anything in itself. But good things happen to good people, and he’s a good person. He’s a good guy to be around. In every clubhouse he goes into, guys kind of just cling to him and feed off the energy he brings.”
Boston righty reliever Isaiah Campbell, who has spent most of the season in Worcester, called Garcia “a great dude” and “fun to be around.”
“Early work, he’s out on the field every single day,” Campbell said. “He’s a gamer. He’s a ballplayer.”
Anthony said people don’t realize how good of a defender he is as well.
“Obviously everyone knows what he can do with the bat, but I think people sleep on how good he is and how fun he is to watch play in the outfield,” Anthony said.
Garcia has started 71 games in center field, 14 in right field and three in left field this year. He also has begun working out at first base before games in an effort to find a path to the majors. The Red Sox have a packed outfield but first base is an area of need.
Garcia said during spring training, “My goal is ultimately to have at least a couple games toward the end of the year in the big leagues.”
With 41 regular season games remaining for Boston, it’s beginning to look like a real possibility that Garcia, who’s already on the 40-man roster, debuts down the stretch.
Campbell said: “Obviously he’s been hitting the ball really far but I think just putting up really good ABs and when a ball is hit out to the outfield, you think it’s got a chance to be caught no matter where it’s at. So for how young he is, for being in Triple A, he’s never been overmatched.”
Jovani Morán, a lefty reliever who the Red Sox promoted from Worcester on Monday, added, “In center field, he has really good hands.”
The Red Sox signed Garcia on July 2, 2019, as a 16-year-old amateur international free agent out of Venezuela. He was not a highly-regarded prospect when he and Anthony played together in the FCL in 2022.
Garcia didn’t become a top 30 organizational prospect until his breakout season in 2024. But Anthony said he’s “not surprised” Garcia broke out.
“Like I said, I’ve been able to see him since I was 18 when I first came in, and see how exciting of a player he is. … And his work ethic,” Anthony said. “That work that he put in at spring training and in the offseason and the time he spends there at the academy (in the Dominican), it’s no mistake that he’s where he is and he works his tail off.”
Anthony also pointed out that Garcia’s brother, Johanfran Garcia, is very talented.
Johanfran signed with the Red Sox organization out of Venezuela only 16 days before Boston drafted Anthony 79th overall in the June 2022 Draft.
Johanfran, a 20-year-old catcher, was ranked No. 14 on Baseball America’s Red Sox top 100 list early in 2024. But he tore ligaments in his knee in a game May 1 of last year, then underwent season-ending surgery. He’s back this year and hit a walkoff wall-ball single for Greenville on Sunday.
“They love to be around the game and they’re baseball rats,” Anthony said.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.