Amir Garrett earns promotion to AAA

Amir Garrett, the 6’5” wing who played for St. John’s for two years before choosing to concentrate on baseball, is getting closer to the major leagues. Garrett, 24, is being called up to the AAA Louisville Bats from his AA Pensacola team in the Cincinnati Reds organization.

Maybe moving up in an organization where the major league level is a dumpster fire is faint praise - or maybe, just maybe, the Reds are waiting for a pitcher like Amir Garrett to be their hero.

Either way, the former St. John's basketball player has achieved another notch in his fairly rapid ascent in professional baseball in the Cincinnati Reds organization.

Last year, he was on the A-level, and this promotion means that Garrett is working on two levels this season. Ge has a 1.75 ERA with the AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos, with 78 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .184 off of him, the lowest average he's allowed in his career.

Garrett is ranked as the fourth best Reds prospect by Major League Baseball and the fifth-best prospect for the Reds by John Sickles' 2016 Baseball Prospect Book.

Garrett's opportunity comes in part because the player just ahead of him, Cody Reed, on the Prospect Book list has joined the major league club. From the Cincinnati Enquirer article:

“His athleticism, his intelligence, his ability to make adjustments, he’s really just put it all together and continues to improve,” said Reds player development director Jeff Graupe. “The kid’s ready for the next challenge...

“I think Amir will learn a lot from going against some experienced guys and also playing with some veterans and having to pick up a couple more tricks to put in his arsenal,” Graupe said. “I think going against a different type of player will be a new and exciting challenge for him.”