As a Rule 5 pick, hard-throwing right-hander Jason Garcia had to stay in the majors all season in 2015 for the Orioles to keep him in the organization.
He made it, pitching 21 games with the Orioles last year – all in relief – and posted a 4.25 ERA. This year, the 23-year-old has appeared in 21 games for the Double-A Bowie Baysox, going 5-8 with a 4.67 ERA.
But that ERA has been dropping precipitously recently. In his last four starts, the 23-year-old Garcia has allowed just four runs in 21 innings (1.29 ERA) and the organization has been limiting his innings recently, perhaps an indication that he could receive a September call-up and end up in the Orioles’ bullpen.
Garcia was recalled to the majors in July, but didn’t pitch before being sent back down.
“Hopefully, I can get back up and stay up,” Garcia told Adam Pohl in this week’s Minor League Podcast. “But last year was definitely an experience that will last forever.”
Garcia talks with Pohl, the voice of the Baysox, about his time in the majors and what he has been working on in Double-A to get back. Garcia has made some slight changes in his delivery and his control, which was inconsistent with the Orioles, has improved. He’s walked just two batters in his last four games while striking out 11.
Also in this week’s podcast, Pohl and Dean Jones Jr., our minor league expert, talk about the pennant races in the minor leagues. And Jones sheds some light on the 2016 draft class, including outfielder Austin Hays, who is tearing up the New-York Penn League.
Give it a listen.
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