The New York Yankees announced today that No. 3 prospect Deivi Garcia will make his MLB debut. He will start in the second game of today’s double header against the New York Mets.
The Yankees signed Garcia back in 2015 out of the Dominican Republic. He spent 2016-2017 playing in rookie leagues before making his Single A debut in 2018. Between two levels of Single-A, he went 4-4, striking out 98 batters. He did make one appearance in Double-A Trenton, throwing five shutout innings.
In 2019, Garcia made 11 starts for the Trenton Thunder, going 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 53.2 innings. He struck out 87 batters and walked 26. He would eventually get moved up to Triple-A Scranton, appearing in 11 games. In those 11 games, he went 1-3 with a much higher 5.40 ERA as both a starter and reliever. In 40 innings, he struck out 45 batters and walked 20.
Scouts have said Garcia’s biggest flaw is his command, which seemed to be his biggest struggle at the Triple A level. His walk rate per nine innings stood at a 4.50, a slight bump up from the 4.36 number in Double A. Also, his strikeouts per nine innings dropped to 10.13 in Triple A, after posting a 14.59 in Double A. Of course, there is plenty of time for that issue to be corrected.
Garcia has a solid repertoire of pitches. Featuring a fastball that can reach 97 mph with late movement. He has a very sharp curve ball that is arguably his best pitch, along with a good change up. Garcia recently added a slider to his arsenal.
Garcia, 21, will be the youngest Yankee pitcher to make his Yankee debut since Phil Hughes in 2007 who was just 20 years old.
(Photo: John Bazemore/AP)
