BRADENTON, Fla. – A year ago at this time, Yeudy Garcia had just wrapped up a big breakout season with West Virginia, posting a 2.10 ERA and a 112:41 K/BB ratio in 124.1 innings. That was very impressive when you consider the fact that it was his second year in pro ball, and that it came after he made the huge jump from the DSL to full season Low-A ball., skipping over three levels in the Pirates’ system in the process.
Last night, Garcia wrapped up a much different 2016 season. Rather than coming in as a mostly unknown pitcher (we heard he had good velocity from his time in the DSL, but no one expected what he did in 2015), he came in to the 2016 season as one of the most anticipated starters in the lower levels.
Garcia had good numbers on the season, with a 2.76 ERA in 127.1 innings, along with a 127:54 K/BB ratio. But the breakdown of the season wasn’t as good.
Early in the season, Garcia struggled with command issues. He was averaging about 20 pitches per inning, and in a lot of starts he was only making it through four or five innings, while reaching an 80 or 90 pitch count. He was relying too much on his slider, mostly due to command issues with the fastball, and a lack of a changeup.
The stats were still good, because Garcia’s stuff is good enough to have success in High-A, even when the fastball command is off, and even when he shows the slider too often. He had a 2.51 ERA in 57.1 innings in the first half, with a 66:29 K/BB ratio. That came in 13 appearances, which means he averaged a little over 4.1 innings per outing. So while the results in those innings were good, he wasn’t showing the ability to go deep into games, mostly because it took too many pitches to put up the good results.
Garcia made some changes in the second half. He stopped relying on his slider so much, and started using the changeup a lot more often. The pitch developed to the point where he was comfortable using it, and in some starts mid-season, he was using only a fastball/changeup approach through the first few innings. The results started to improve, especially from an innings standpoint.
In the second half, Garcia had a 2.96 ERA in 70 innings, with a 61:25 K/BB ratio. The ERA was higher than the first half, and the strikeout rate was lower. The walk rate was also lower, and Garcia was averaging 5.1 innings per start. There was still improvement to be made, and some starts saw him limited to four innings. But he was no longer needing to go deep in the pitch count for individual innings, he lowered the free passes, and still had good results.
Friday night was an example of what Garcia is capable of when everything is going right. He went seven innings, giving up just one run on six hits, with no walks and six strikeouts. He only needed 89 pitches to get through the seven frames, which is a stark difference from early in the season, when that amount of pitches would have gotten him through four innings.
“He just put the icing on the cake for a great season he had,” Bradenton manager Michael Ryan said after the game. “That’s the best I’ve seen him all year. He showed up for the right game. We had the right guy on the mound at the right time. I’m glad he started tonight.”
Garcia was fine early in the game. His slider wasn’t consistent, and he left a few up, but he got away with the mistakes (RE: His stuff is good enough to get outs in High-A, even when it’s not on that day). Unlike early in the season, his fastball command was sharp, working down in the zone and mixing his pitches well to keep an aggressive lineup off-balanced.
Things really picked up in the second half of the start. He was able to get the slider down in the zone and get more consistent movement. He also started mixing in his changeup more often. With all three pitches working, he was dominant, striking out five batters in the final two innings.
“When he was throwing all three, he was mixing really well, and that was able to help him get some strikeouts,” Ryan said.
That was about the best way you could hope to wrap up a season. Garcia posted arguably his best start of the year in a big moment to put the Marauders up 1-0 in the Florida State League finals. He had a season plagued by command issues, and relying on one pitch when the others weren’t working. Friday night he was efficient, and he didn’t bail on his pitches when they weren’t working, eventually fixing what wasn’t working, and using all three pitches to get outs.
Last year was a big breakout for Garcia, although he was mostly a thrower, and could get away with that, due to his stuff being better than what A-ball hitters are used to seeing. This year was a little rough behind the numbers, but he started making the transition from being a thrower to being a pitcher. That’s something he’s going to have to continue next year in Altoona, and hopefully he can build on this final start of the 2016 season.
Bradenton Notes
**I don’t often highlight relievers at this level, since it’s a long road from being an A-ball reliever to pitching in the majors. I did want to highlight Tanner Anderson, who pitched two innings last night. Anderson always stands out to me for one reason: His Bronson Arroyo style leg kick. Here was a video I shot during Spring Training.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDRGLZpFpXD/
“The leg kick, I love it,” Pitching coach Scott Elarton said. “I like those unique deliveries. I like the way he looks away towards third base and picks up the target kind of late. It’s not ideal, but it works for him. No chance of messing it up.”
The delivery adds some deception, and his delivery from the stretch is also deceptive, with a much quicker move to the plate, and a bit of a side step to throw off hitters. He also adds deception by having good movement on his fastball, with good downward action. The impressive thing last night was that he was sitting 92-94 MPH, and I heard he’s hit 94 and 95 this year. That’s an increase from the start of the year, when he was 90-92.
“He’s got a good arm,” Elarton said. “He’s got good sink action. And he’s been working hard on his off-speed pitches. He’s throwing a bit better slider right now. It’s an effective combination.”
I don’t know if Anderson will become a prospect. He’s more of a pitch-to-contact guy, and doesn’t have a good strikeout pitch. He benefits a lot from deception and the angle and movement on his fastball. The added velocity helps, as he was blowing it by hitters last night. But we’ll have to wait and see if that holds up in the upper levels before knowing whether that delivery can have a shot at reaching the majors.
**Austin Coley takes the mound for the Marauders tonight in game two against Tampa. Mitch Keller follows him on Sunday, and JT Brubaker goes on Monday, if needed. Those two games would have been in Tampa. However, renovations to Steinbrenner Field prevented any playoff games from being played there, which means every game in this series will be in Bradenton.
