Jonathan India

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Jonathan Joseph India

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Biographical Information[edit]

Second baseman Jonathan India was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds with the 5th overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft, out of the University of Florida. He was a third baseman in college and as a junior in 2018, he was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year when he hit .365 with 16 homers and 40 RBIs. His selection added to a potential glut of third basemen for the Reds, as they had recently signed major league starter Eugenio Suarez to a long-term contract, and also had Nick Senzel, the #2 selection in the 2016 draft, also waiting in the wings. He was part of the Florida team that reached the finals of the 2018 College World Series. He waited until the end of the tournament to sign with the Reds, agreeing to a signing bonus estimated at $5.3 million on July 1st.

India made his professional debut in 2018 with the Billings Mustangs and also played for two other teams that year, the Greeneville Reds and Dayton Dragons. In all, he played 44 games and put up a batting line of .240/.380/.432. In 2019, he started the season in the Florida State League with the Daytona Tortugas, where he hit .256 in 87 games, then was promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the AA Southern League, where he played 34 games and hit .270. Combined, his batting line was .259/.365/.402 in 121 games, with 18 doubles, 5 triples and 11 homers, scoring 74 runs and driving in 44. He then played in the Arizona Fall League following the season, but hit just .133 against stiff competition. He played third base and shortstop during the two seasons, with a handful of games at second base as well. He would normally have made his major league debut during the 2020 season, but that was the year when the Coronavirus pandemic cut the major league season to 60 games and wiped out the minor league season. As a result, he spent the year at the Reds' alternate training site.

It was not clear where he fit in the Reds' depth chart when spring training opened in 2021, as their infield plans were in flux. However, he managed to earn a starting job with a great spring in which he hit .313 and slugged .604 in 22 games, whereas veteran Dee Strange-Gordon, who had been penciled in to start at shortstop, failed to impress and was released. He was thus placed on the opening day roster as the starting second baseman, with Mike Moustakas moving back to his natural position, third base, and Suarez playing shortstop (in the meantime, Senzel had been moved to centerfield). It may not have been the most air-tight infield defense around, but it was a group likely to put a lot of runs on the scoreboard. In his major league debut on April 1st, he went 2 for 4 with a double as the starting second sacker in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He was the National League Rookie of the Month in July when he batted .319 with 20 runs, 7 doubles, 4 homers and 12 RBIs in 25 games. He also recorded his first career multi-homer game on July 30th against the New York Mets. He continued to do well that season, finishing at .269 in 150 games, with 21 homers and 69 RBIs for an OPS+ of 116. He was voted the winner of the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year Award, receiving 29 of 30 first-place vote.

After his great rookie season, India fell back over the next three seasons. He played over 100 games each year as the Reds' starting second baseman from 2022 to 2024, but failed to match any of his rookie season's triple crown stats in any of those years. His batting average was between .244 and .249 each year, his homers between 10 and 17, and his RBIs between 41 and 61. He had scored 98 runs as a rookie, but his top total over the next three seasons was 84, and it was the same story as far as doubles, OBP and slugging percentage were concerned. His OPS+ fell below 100 in 2002 and 2003, but did bounce back to 105 in 2004. All in all, though, he was considered a disappointment by the end of that period for his failure to build upon his initial season. The Reds missed the postseason all four years he was a starter for them, and by the end of 2024 had completely turned their line-up over: gone were Suarez, Moustakas, long-time first baseman Joey Votto and Senzel, who had never fulfilled his potential, and instead the team was building around players like Elly De La Cruz, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Spencer Steer and T.J. Friedl. India was associated with the previous group of players, and on November 22, 2024, he was sent away too, traded to the Kansas City Royals along with OF Joey Wiemer in return for pitcher Brady Singer. Ironically, Singer had been India's teammate at the University of Florida a few years earlier, and both had been top draft picks.

Notable Achievements[edit]


NL Rookie of the Year
2020 2021 2022
Devin Williams Jonathan India Michael Harris

Further Reading[edit]

  • Anthony Castrovince: "Arozarena, India claim top rookie hardware", mlb.com, November 15, 2021. [1]
  • Mark Sheldon: "Reds select U. of Florida 3B India at No. 5: Right-handers Richardson, Gray also drafted on Day 1", mlb.com June 5, 2018. [2]
  • Mark Sheldon: "Reds trade for Singer, send India, Wiemer to Royals", mlb.com, November 22, 2024. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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