Former Monarch, Julian Garcia Called To The Show

Kansas City, KS — It was a dream come true for Julian Garcia on Sunday as the two-time Kansas City Monarch was called up to the Cincinnati Reds.

This is the 5th former Monarch under Joe Calfapietra to get called to the big leagues. The 31 year old right hander will move to the Reds 40 man roster and is set to make his MLB debut when he appears in his first game. Garcia said, “I was shocked when they told me in the Atlanta airport that I was going to Cincinnati. Everything happened so quickly.”

The Colorado native is coming from the Reds Triple-A affiliate, the Louisville Bats, where he put together an impressive 3-0 record with 54 strikeouts in 35.2 innings of work for a 3.03 ERA. Garcia moved into a relief role and struck out batters at a clip of 37.8%.

Before moving back to affiliated ball in August 2025, Garcia spent two seasons in Kansas City and put together some historical numbers. He set a Monarchs record with 163 strikeouts in 2025 and was four shy of the league record set by current Rangers pitcher, Tyler Alexander. The former 10th round pick also totaled a 3.01 ERA across 14 games, 31 starts and 203.2 innings of work. His 2.54 ERA in 2024 was the second-best in club history.

Julian talks about his stop in KC and says, “Obviously, I want to thank Joe Calfapietra and the Kansas City Monarchs. They always believed in me and supported me, and I am very, very grateful. It is a first class organization, and I really appreciate everything they’ve done for my career.”

Part of the process to get to the top was Monarchs manager, Joe Calfapietra. This is the 13th player that was managed under Calfapietra to make it to the MLB. The skipper said, “The whole organization is very excited for Julian. It really is overwhelming that we could be a small part of this tremendous pitchers success. We are so happy that Julian Garcia can take a small piece of the Monarchs to Cincinnati.”

“The whole organization is rooting for Garcia and is very proud to see him have a chance in the show. We wish him nothing but the best in Cincinnati!” – Joe Calfapietra