Clarewater, Fla. – Davy Garcia was just 16 years old when he compared Pedro Martinez.
He was young, right-handed and short in stature.
Even the current bench coach – and acting manager – Carlos Mendoza listened to him.
“Clearly, he’s a little boy and everyone was talking and comparing him to Pedro Martinez,” said Mendoza, who had seen Garcia on the Yanks’ campus in the Dominican Republic when the team shot at him Not signed “I was like, ‘Really, we’re leaving Pedro Martinez on him at this age?” “
Garcia – listed at 5-foot-9 and 163 pounds – showed flashes of excellence after being called up last season, as he did in his major league debut, when he scored a one-hit, shutout ball against the Mets in August. Was thrown in six innings of 30.
Garcia doesn’t turn 22 until May, and Mendoza and the Yankees are more concerned about his development than whether he turns into an all-time great.
This spring, he is trying to earn a spot in the rotation and he showed at the start of his spring on Thursday why he has a chance.
In two innings of 15–0, an eight-end loss to the Phillies at the Beckere Ballpark, Garcia allowed a pair of homers, but was otherwise encouraged by a 27-pitch outing, which included three strikes.
“I feel really good,” Garcia said through an interpreter. “I felt very comfortable with all my pitches. I missed two pitches and had to bear the consequences. “
Those shots came from Scott Scottieri in the first and Odubel Herrera in the second, but Garcia also received nine swings and moses – thanks to a fastball and knotty slider in the mid-90s.
“I like my cremation on the mound,” Luke Voit said. “It seems like he has a lot of confidence outside and has got the ability to pitch in the top of the zone.”
Gottia said that if Garcia achieves more consistency with his off-speed pitches, “I think he’s got the potential to be a very good starter in the big leagues.”
In addition to trying to win a spot in the rotation, Garcia is also trying to improve his delivery.
He said he would like to simplify his mechanics and stay more on his hind legs to increase his balance.
According to Mendoza, this distinguishes, among other things, Garcia from some other possibilities.
“He is a smart kid and is always ready to learn,” Mendoza said. “And very mature for her age.”
In this way he was capable without being overwhelmed by references to Martinez.
“They mixed their pitches well [16], ” Mendoza said. He said, ‘He has a good experience for pitching. It is rare at that age, especially in the Dominican Republic. Usually you get those people and they [just] Throwing hard. With the goddess, it was different. He will talk on pitching and ever since we met him, he is quite advanced. “
According to Voyt, at least one of his similarities to Martinez should serve him well.
“He’s different as a younger man,” Voit said. “You don’t face many people like that. He’s a little different [arm] Slot and this is why he pushes the ball to the zone to be elevated. “
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