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In fewer than two weeks, pitchers and catchers will be warming up in Sarasota, Fla.
Right-hander Jason Garcia will be one of them. He almost certainly won’t make the 25-man roster out of camp, like he did when he was a Rule 5 pick in 2015,
But Garcia’s a guy to keep an eye on for 2017 – because of his talent, experience and versatility.
And because of his youth.
Garcia, who turned 24 in November, is the second youngest pitcher on the Orioles’ 40-man roster, one day older than Jayson Aquino and about a week younger than Dylan Bundy.
Garcia spent most of the season as an Oriole in 2015, with manager Buck Showalter trying to pick his spots to get the rookie some experience. Garcia appeared in 21 games, all in relief, with a 4.25 ERA while walking 17 and striking out 22 in 29 2/3 innings.
In 2016, he was sent to Double-A Bowie with mixed results. He had some good games, especially toward the end of the season, when he posted a 2.64 ERA in six August starts. But he also struggled with his command at times, going 6-10 with a 4.73 ERA in 24 starts with the Baysox. He struck out 74 batters and walked 54 in 123 2/3 innings.
He was called up to the majors in 2016 as an emergency fill-in, but wasn’t needed and went back to Bowie.
Adam Pohl, the voice of the Baysox, saw all of Garcia’s starts last year. And, in this segment of our “Minor League Podcast,” Garcia tells Pohl what he thinks went right and why he believes he’ll build on those things in 2017, whether it’s in the minors or the majors, as a reliever or a starter.
In preparation for this season, Garcia has been working out with Orioles’ vice president Brady Anderson in California. Garcia gives a little glimpse into those workouts (which he’s been doing with another 24-year-old pitching prospect, Chris Lee).
It was also an exceptionally impactful offseason for Garcia, who became a father for the first time. He talks with Pohl about that – and about how he’s actually missing changing diapers.
Definitely some good stuff here from a pitcher who could see time in the majors in 2017. So, give it a listen.
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Adam Pohl is a legend. The O's are lucky to have him in their system as a broadcaster. A note on Jason Garcia...three O's Fan Fests in a row he has signed an autograph for my son. He's definitely someone to pull for.
We are lucky to have Adam with us. Great to know about Jason. Very nice guy when he was with Os in 2015.
It's always such a great surprise when a player has a sense of actual lessons learned, things he knows were the issue and solutions to address them. It's really encouraging that Jason can point to specific things he did during the course of last season to improve. Got me curious about how much the O's player development team works on "focus" as an issue. If several of the players commiserated about the "5th inning blues," then isn't that something that should be worked on across the board? Maybe that's just a skill you either have or don't have, but I think it might also play into what he described as being able to catch lapses in his mechanics sooner. Regardless, looking forward to watching him carry his improvements into the 2017 season.
Thanks for this interesting interview, good stuff.