The Yankees called up top pitching prospect Deivi Garcia to get the start in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader. Here's what CBS Sports prospect expert R.J. Anderson had to say about Garcia this past offseason when ranking him the Yankees' top prospect.
Garcia has one of the best breaking balls in the Minors, a high-spin curveball with so much depth that he sometimes has difficulty landing it for strikes. He also dodges bats with a fastball that ranges from 91-97 mph with high spin rates that give it riding life up in the strike zone. He added a mid-80s slider in 2019 to give batters a different look, and he also flashes a solid changeup with fading action.
The main concern about Garcia in the minors was a lack of command -- and some question if the diminutive Garcia is big enough to take on the workload of a starting pitcher. There was none of that on Sunday against the Mets. Garcia
Here's his first career strikeout:
Welcome to the show, @Deivigarcia01 ☝️ pic.twitter.com/gFpIXBES23
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 30, 2020
The final line: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Garcia will not come away with the victory, though, as the Yankees only put up one run in support of him while he was in the game and the Mets got an unearned run to tie the game in the sixth. A Luke Voit error allowed a baserunner to reach second and one out later Dom Smith singled the runner home.
Still, this was overall a great success for Garcia. The fastball was sitting low-90s and the curve was spinning tightly. He mixed in the changeup and a few sliders, showing off the four-pitch arsenal. The curve was used most often and was the most effective pitch.
With Luis Severino out for the season, James Paxton hurt and J.A. Happ so unreliable, the guess is Garcia stays put in the rotation for the time being while the Yankees likely search for rotation help on the open market.
