SAD NEWS : Houston Astros mourn death of key player after former MLB prospect died in a car accident with his dad

The Houston Astros are mourning the death of Ronny Garcia, who passed away in a car accident in the Dominican Republic at age 24 on Saturday The former Astros prospect passed away in a multi-motorcycle accident that also killed his father and another person. The crash reportedly occurred on the Las Galeras-Samaná highway. Garcia, a pitcher, was in the Astros minor-league system from 2017-2023. Garcia had signed with the York Revolution, an independent-league team based in southern Pennsylvania, for the 2024 season. ‘He’ll be a young bullpen arm for us,’ Revolution manager Rick Forney said when Garcia signed with the team to ABC 27 in Yor

‘I am excited about him. He has impressive career statistics. He’s a promising young pitcher. I’m hoping I can persuade him to be more than a one-inning guy, perhaps a bridge player in the sixth or seventh inning. “I’m excited to get my eyes on him,” Forney concluded.

Garcia is originally from Samana, Dominican Republic, and played for the country’s summer league affiliates before moving to the United States in 2021.

Garcia competed in the Florida Complex League and for the Class-A Fayetteville (North Carolina) Woodpeckers in 2021.

In 2022, the bullpen pitcher continued to play for the same teams.

Garcia returned to Fayetteville for one game before being promoted to the High-A Asheville Tourists last season. As part of the Tourists’ roster, Garcia went 2-2 with a 3.38 earned-run average in 29 appearances. He also struck out 40 hitters in 34.2 innings of work alongside two saves, per ABC 27.