Jaime Garcia and What Could Have Been

I was a big fan of Jaime Garcia this past year, and it really dissappointed me when I heard that he was undergoing Tommy John Surgery back in September.  While it certainly does not signal the end of his career, it's always unfortunate to watch a young, talented pitcher waste his years away on the DL.  Hopefully he'll recover quickly and make his way back for the 2010 season.  

There's an interesting article on ChrisOLeary.com that was written back in July breaking down Garcia's mechanics and some of the potential arm and shoulder problems he could face over time.

Had he been healthy for the 2009 season, I would have projected something along the lines of a 1.25 to 1.35 WHIP, with an ERA in the 3.50 to 4.00 range.  Along with the help of a decent Cardinals offense, Jaime might have been able to win anywhere from 10 to 15 games.  Oh, what might have been.

Jaime Garcia Major League Debut

I made a guess the other day as to what Jaime Garcia's major league debut stat line would look like, so let's see how I did.

Here's what I guessed Garcia would post..

6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

And here's his actual line for the day...

5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

So I wasn't too far off, but Garcia gave up a few more hits and runs than I thought he would. His biggest mistake was a home run he gave up to Scott Hairston, but other than that he was pretty solid, inducing a lot of ground balls and getting a fair share of strike outs. It looked like his control was decent, but not as good as it could have been.

Overall, I'd give him a B+ for his debut.

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Jaime Garcia to Start Against Padres

Tony La Russa has announced that Jaime Garcia will start Sunday against the San Diego Padres, who are 12-22 against left handed pitchers.

The Cardinals have used Garcia as a reliever since his call-up, but feel that he is more valuable as a starter. While he has made some rough appearances at AAA in the past month, he turned 22 years old 6 days ago, and has shown that he has the talent to become an excellent starter. His best comparisons include Brandon Webb, Fausto Carmona, and Francisco Liriano, so it should be exciting to watch him against a team like the Padres. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict a stat line for the game...

6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

We'll check back Sunday evening or Monday morning and see how close my prediction was. Fell free to add your own.

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