Amir Garrett is still a work in progress for the Cincinnati Reds. The 24-year-old delayed full pursuit of his baseball career until he decided to drop college hoops from his routine for good in 2014.
Once better known as a college basketball player for St. John’s, Garrett now has the chance to claim a spot in the Reds’ rotation by the end of this year. If he continues to surge the way he has since dropping basketball, Garrett will be a frontrunner for a Reds’ rotation spot at the beginning of next season.
The Reds promoted Garrett to Triple-A last week after he sailed through the first half of the Double-A season. Garrett recorded a stellar 1.75 ERA and 1.026 WHIP in 77 innings in his Double-A action this year.
Garrett made his last Double-A start on June 16. His next turn to pitch would’ve been June 21, but fellow phenom Robert Stephenson made the Triple-A start.
Garrett will make his Triple-A debut soon enough. His suddenly rapid ascent toward the majors is making the Reds’ front office look very prudent in their decision to draft and pay Garrett in 2011.
Garret was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2011 draft. His selection came with a $1-million signing bonus and the condition that he be permitted to continue his collegiate basketball career.
Time will tell just how good Garrett can be, but it’s clear the power lefty has benefited by focusing solely on baseball. After putting up a 5.93 ERA in 57.2 innings in low-level ball in 2013, Garrett had a 3.64 ERA in 133.1 innings of Low-A ball in 2014. Last year, he posted a 2.44 in 140.1 innings at High-A.
With that kind of progress, Garrett is stirring the same kind of hype and expectations that both Stephenson and current Reds’ rookie Cody Reed have evoked.
If the trio of Garrett, Stephenson and Reed are all firmly established in the Reds’ rotation at the start of the 2017 season, the Reds will be on the verge of changing from the rebuilding mode of the past two seasons to rebuilt contender.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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