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From Frankie Piliere:
He’s plenty scary right now though, and he has a lot more going for him than just his fastball. Garcia is a complete, three-pitch pitcher, and that is with three plus pitches. I don’t like to throw around plus grades often, so to see a pitcher with three plus pitches is a real rarity. It’s never been about stuff with this big right-hander; it’s always been about his health…..
Consider the arsenal Garcia showed off on Wednesday. His plus fastball with good movement produces a huge amount of groundballs and broken bats. His curveball is an elite, swing-and-miss type pitch. And, he has a changeup he can locate with excellent consistency with a 10-14 mph differential from his fastball. The main complaint about the Yankees farm system from a pitching perspective is that they lack a hurler with frontline upside in the upper levels of their system. If Garcia is on the field and throwing like he did on Wednesday, that won’t be the case for long.
That is some very high praise, but this is par for the course with Garcia. Every so often he pops up and dazzles scouts by stringing a few amazing outings together, and then he gets hurt and disappears for a few months. He is the sort of pitcher that you can never depend on, and will feel lucky about if he ever contributes to the big league club. That said, it is encouraging to hear that he has yet to lose any of his innate talent due to the injuries, and that his stuff is a s sharp as ever. Hopefully he can find some of that magic elixir that helped injury prone guys such as AJ Burnett and Curt Schilling figure out how to stay healthy, and the Yankees can capitalize on his high ceilinged arm. Until then, he is simply a tease, giving fans a glimmer of hope that is almost certain to be extinguished.
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6 Responses to Christian Garcia Still Teasing Fans And Scouts
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TIQ IQ
It’s too bad cause his stuff is outstanding. Had it not been for the injuries, he would have been in the majors 2 or 3 years ago.
When, oh when will they convert this guy to a reliever. I know there are some doctors who think that’s actually worse for your arm, but being a starter clearly isn’t working. Some guys simply can’t hold up as starters, it’s worth a shot. I’d hate to see him get released without ever having tried.
Chris Garcia sounds like a complete pitcher, right NOW. Its kinda amazing his stuff has held up, though i remember reading reports that the velocity has dropped by 2-3 mph. Garcia used to have devastating stuff, but hey, its really never too late and with this performance he’s probably bought himself a half-season. Start Garcia in AA. He still remains the best pitching talent in the farm, and that’s kinda sad …
p.s., I would’ve given that “best pitching talent” title to A-Vizcaino.
Yeah, I could believe that a healthy Garcia could be Mo’s true heir.
I think Garcia has a very good chance to start some games for the Yankees before this season is over.
From your keyboard to God’s ears, Lefty. I saw him pitch a game for Trenton last season. His stuff was spellbinding.