Garcia spent three years pitching at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, missing bats as a starter in 2022, then transferring to Texas A&M to pitch out of the Aggies bullpen in 2023. He again registered high strikeout rates, along with a lot of walks, but showed enough promise for the Mariners to take him in Round 11 of the 2023 Draft and sign him for the Day 3 slot value of $150,000. He pitched well in his brief pro debut that summer, and that's carried over to his first full season, throwing more strikes and earning a promotion from High-A to Double-A in the process.
After seeming like a surefire bullpen piece, Garcia might now have a chance to start. The 6-foot-4 lefty has three pitches that all at least flash above-average. He throws a heavy two-seam fastball, one that sits around 94 mph and touches as high as 97 mph and gets a ton of groundball outs. He complements his sinking heater with an above-average cutter and a sweeping slider, both of which can miss a lot of bats, though he doesn't command them consistently.
Garcia's overall command and control are what might keep him from starting long-term. He delivers all of his offerings from a slot that's lower three-quarters, bordering on sidearm, and while that certainly adds deception, he doesn't always repeat it enough to find the zone. He's taken strides in that direction, cutting his walk rate considerably as a pro, so the Mariners don't want to give up on the starting experiment yet, but his stuff could tick up even more if he has to return to a bullpen.
