Recently, the Orioles have a history of letting Rule 5 draft picks stick around on the team.
Baltimore selected Ryan Flaherty in 2012 and T.J. McFarland in 2013. Both players have shown their value, with Flaherty being used as a utility man and McFarland as a long reliever.
This season, the O’s picked up pitchers Jason Garcia and Logan Verrett in the Rule 5 Draft. Garcia is an exciting selection because of his high-velocity fastball and because he’s only 22 years old.
So can a pitcher, who hasn’t pitched past Class A in the minors, make the major league roster?
Garcia has been in Boston’s minor league system since he was 17 and has shown some mixed results. He posted a 3.88 ERA in his first season in Class A, but it spiked to 6.16 in his next season.
However, Garcia improved over the next few years. He had a 3.79 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 35.2 innings last season. Garcia also didn’t give up any home runs, had the lowest H/9 rate of his career and had the highest SO/9 of his career, according to baseball-reference.com.
It’s going to be hard for a pitcher who hasn’t pitched in the majors to make the team with a crowded bullpen. Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, Brian Matusz, Tommy Hunter and Brad Brach seem to be the likely locks for the bullpen. That means Garcia will have to battle Wesley Wright, Ryan Webb, McFarland and possibly Miguel Gonzalez for one of the final few spots.
Garcia pitched well in the last intrasquad game Sunday, striking out two batters in an inning of work, according to Adam Berry of MLB.com. He also drew the interest of his teammates:
Buck said some players moved from the bench to the top step of the dugout to watch Jason Garcia pitch. #orioles
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) March 1, 2015
Its tough odds for the young pitcher, as the Orioles have a logjam in the bullpen. It would help if the team chooses to keep eight relievers, but a lot depends on the how comfortable the Orioles feel with their bench players.
Injuries or a possible trade can also help out Garcia, which are two things that seem to normally happen with Baltimore pitchers.
Garcia will get a chance to show was he’s capable of soon, as Spring Training games start tomorrow. He’ll have a month to convince Buck Showalter and company that he can surpass a few levels of minor league baseball.
Don’t count out a young, hard-throwing pitcher that is ready to break into the majors. You just might see the fireballing righty in the back of the bullpen on Opening Day.
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