Report: Phillies to Call Up 22-Year-Old Pitching Prospect

EdgarGarcia

Philadelphia Phillies prospect RHP Edgar Garcia throwing with the Double-A Reading Fightin' Phils on April 8, 2018 (Steven Kiebach/SportsTalkPhilly.com).

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Philadelphia Phillies may have won their sixth series of the season on Sunday, but that did not stop them from reportedly making a roster move, unrelated to an injury.

Following its 7-1 rout victory over the Washington Nationals, the club optioned RHP Enyel De Los Santos to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and, according to baseball scribe Antonio Puesán, recalled their No. 28-ranked prospect RHP Edgar Garcia as the corresponding move.

Garcia, 22, signed with the Phillies for just $30,000 five years ago (May 2014) out of the Dominican Republic. The Phillies have liked the reliever so much since then, including this past offseason, that they protected him and two others from being selected in the December 2018 Rule 5 draft by adding them to the 40-man roster. Then, NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury described Garcia as someone that could "push for work" some time in the Phillies' 2019 bullpen.

It appears Garcia will indeed get his chance, perhaps sooner than expected.

MLBPipeline.com says that the right-hander's fastball-slider combination "works extremely well in shorter stints out of the bullpen."

With a live arm and athletic delivery, Garcia will throw his fastball in the 92-95 mph range and touches a tick higher regularly. He routinely misses bats with his slider, which flashes plus. His changeup was a work in progress, but as a short reliever, it's possible he can be just a two-pitch pitcher, though that would limit his value. … The right-hander won't need pinpoint command, though he'll have to continue to be around the strike zone consistently. If he can do that, and develop his changeup to be a weapon against a lefty, he could pitch late in games in Philadelphia soon.

Garcia split last season between Double-A and Triple-A; in 52 games, he posted a 3.64 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, along with 72 strikeouts and 27 walks allowed over 64 1/3 innings. This season with the IronPigs, Garcia is 1-1 with a 1.65 ERA, 0.735 WHIP and 23-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 16 1/3 innings and 13 appearances.

De Los Santos pitched the final two innings in relief of Eflin during Sunday's win, allowing no runs, no walks, and just two hits while striking out four batters spanning 29 pitches.

Go to top button