Christian Garcia
Christian Garcia | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Miami, Florida | August 24, 1985|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 4, 2012, for the Washington Nationals | |
Last appearance | |
October 3, 2012, for the Washington Nationals | |
MLB statistics (through 2012 season) | |
Win–loss record | 0–0 |
ERA | 2.13 |
Strikeouts | 15 |
Teams | |
Christian J. Garcia (born August 24, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Garcia pitched for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball in 2012.
Early life[]
Garcia attended Gulliver Preparatory School in Coral Gables, Florida. He played for the school's baseball team as a catcher[1] and committed to attend the University of South Carolina on a baseball scholarship, intending to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks.[2] He was a switch-hitting catcher as well as pitcher.[3]
Professional career[]
The Yankees selected Garcia in the third round of the 2004 MLB Draft,[4] and he made his professional debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL) with the GCL Yankees. One of the top prospects in the GCL in 2004, Garcia was promoted to the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2005.[1] After returning to Charleston in 2006, the Yankees assigned him to the West Oahu CaneFires of the Arizona Fall League after the 2006 season.[5]
Garcia experienced a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, which required Tommy John surgery in 2007.[4][6][7] After missing the entire 2007 season, Garcia pitched to a 4–4 win–loss record and a 4.33 earned run average (ERA) with 74 strikeouts in 62+1⁄3 innings pitched between the GCL Yankees, Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and Trenton Thunder of Class AA Eastern League in 2008. The Yankees added Garcia to their 40 man roster after the 2008 season.[8] Garcia experienced a recurrence of pain in his right elbow, which required his second elbow surgery, to repair a bone spur.[7] His UCL tore again in 2010, which required his second Tommy John surgery in April 2010.[4][6][7] The Yankees released him one month later.[6]
The Washington Nationals signed him in July 2011. In 2012, he allowed only five earned runs in 45 appearances, for a combined ERA of 0.86 for the Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League and Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League.[9] On September 3, 2012, he was promoted to the major leagues.[10] The following day, he made his major league debut, inducing a pop-up to end an inning.[7]
Nationals manager Davey Johnson said on September 24 that the team may attempt to convert Garcia into a starter for the 2013 season, citing his fully developed repertoire of pitches.[11]
Garcia spent most of the 2013 season on the disabled list with a torn wrist tendon, shoulder and hamstring injuries, with minor league rehab assignments at Class A Potomac, Class AA Harrisburg, and Class AAA Syracuse. [12]
Garcia was released by the Nationals on June 25, 2014.[13]
Pitching style[]
Garcia throws four pitches: a four-seam and two-seam fastball averaging about 96 mph, a sweeping knuckle curveball[3] in the low 80s, and a changeup averaging about 87 mph.[14] Garcia said he was inspired to learn the spike curveball grip from watching Mike Mussina pitch.[3]
References[]
- ^ a b Henley, Bill (March 31, 2005). "R'Dogs Getting Some Top Yankee Prospects". The Post and Courier. p. 4C. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ "Draft leaves Gamecocks looking fine for 2005". The Herald. Rock Hill, South Carolina: Nl.newsbank.com. June 10, 2004. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ a b c Teale, Patrick (March 26, 2004). "Scout.com: Q&A with Christian Garcia". Scout.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
My curveball is more of a knuckle curveball.
- ^ a b c Kilgore, Adam (August 30, 2012). "Christian Garcia could be a call-up after overcoming two Tommy John surgeries". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ "Pilittere turning heads in AFL". MLB.com. June 19, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c Nalbone, John (May 15, 2010). "Yankees release RHP Garcia". NJ.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Kilgore, Adam (September 5, 2012). "Christian Garcia makes debut after long road to majors". Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ "Yankees add pitchers Anthony Claggett, Michael Dunn, Christian Garcia and Steven Jackson to roster". MLB.com (Press release). November 20, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ "Christian Garcia Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ "Christian Garcia, after a long path from injury, finally gets his call-up". Washington Post. September 4, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ Wagner, James (September 24, 2012). "Christian Garcia could start for Nats next season". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ Comak, Amanda (July 10, 2013). "Christian Garcia suffers another injury setback with hamstring issue". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
- ^ Hughes, Chase. "Nats DFA Dobbs, cut Garcia, call up Hill". Nats Insider. CSN Washington. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
- ^ "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Christian Garcia". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- 1985 births
- Living people
- Baseball players from Miami
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- Washington Nationals players
- Gulf Coast Yankees players
- Charleston RiverDogs players
- Tampa Yankees players
- Trenton Thunder players
- Auburn Doubledays players
- Harrisburg Senators players
- Syracuse Chiefs players