The Cincinnati Reds have regarded Jose Barrero as their shortstop of the future for years. It is now time for Barrero to prove himself.
The Reds are giving Barrero that chance. Kyle Farmer was moved to third base to open the position for the Reds’ prospect as he will be given the rest of the year to show whether or not he can be a potential major league asset. If not, the Reds did acquire Noelvi Marte as part of the Luis Castillo trade.
Jose Barrero gives Cincinnati Reds reason for hope on Saturday
While Barrero certainly has the glove to handle being an every day shortstop, there were questions about his ability to hit. That changed for at least one day, as Barrero hit the first two homers of his career in the Reds 7-5 victory over the Brewers. That made him just the second player in Reds history to hit his first two homers on the same day, joining Harry Steinfeldt in 1900.
He certainly needed that type of performance. Barrero had been given looks in both 2020 and 2021 but failed to do anything with them. Entering Saturday’s game, he had produced a .187/.231/.236 batting line in his 130 plate appearances, with four doubles and triple as his only extra base hits.
Barrero had not exactly lit Triple-A on fire either this season. He had a .209/.262/.377 batting line in his 237 plate appearances, although with nine homers and eight doubles. However, his previous minor league track record, as well as his stature as a top 100 prospect per Baseball America, will ensure that he gets a chance.
Maybe he just needed to have that success. The two home run game may be enough to give Barrero the belief that he belongs in the majors and he can parlay that into a solid run. If so, he could still prove to be the Reds’ shortstop of the future.
The Cincinnati Reds are giving Jose Barrero a chance to prove himself at the major league level. His showing on Saturday certainly helped.