James Garcia (minors02)

James Robert Garcia

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 210 lb.
• High School West Torrance High School
• School University of California, Santa Barbara
• Born February 3, 1980 in Torrance, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

James Garcia is a former minor league pitcher who played from 2002 to 2011. He spent parts of three seasons at Triple-A.

He attended West Torrance High School, and later he attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2001, Garcia was a Big West Conference All-Star. He throws a good breaking ball, but doesn't have a Major League caliber fastball according to Baseball America. He also averages more than one strikeout per inning.

This 6' 0", 210 right-handed pitcher was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox, 895th overall, in the 30th round of the 1998 amateur draft, but did not sign. He began his professional career in 2002 after being signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Francisco Giants.

He pitched for the AZL Giants and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 2002, going a combined 1-3 with a 1.53 ERA in 24 relief appearances. He had 42 strikeouts and only 13 hits allowed in 29 1/3 innings. In 2003, he was 6-7 with a 4.17 ERA in 40 games (7 starts) for the San Jose Giants and Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies. In 95 innings, he had 127 Ks. With San Jose and Fresno again in 2004, he was 5-6 with a 3.69 ERA in 51 games (7 starts), striking out 118 batters in 105 innings. With the Norwich Navigators in 2005, Garcia was 6-7 with a 4.93 ERA in 32 games (15 starts). He pitched for San Jose, the Connecticut Defenders and Fresno in 2006 and was 8-12 with a 4.72 ERA in 30 games (27 starts).

The Giants let him go following the 2006 season, so he latched on in the independent leagues. Pitching for the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League and Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League in 2007, he was 4-5 with a 6.55 ERA in 23 games (16 starts). He was 2-4 with 12 saves and a 6.14 ERA in 32 relief appearances for the Golden Baseball League's Yuma Scorpions in 2008, striking out 50 batters in 44 innings. In 2009, he was 3-5 with an 8.25 ERA in 9 starts for the GBL's Victoria Seals and in 2010, he was 7-4 with a 3.81 ERA in 18 starts for the GBL's Tucson Toros. The 31-year-old wrapped up his career in 2011, pitching for Yuma - now of the North American League - and the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association. He was 5-3 with a 4.21 ERA in 13 games (11 starts) combined.

Overall, Garcia spent 10 years in the minor leagues and went 47-56 with a 4.79 ERA in 272 games (112 starts). He had 735 strikeouts in 846 1/3 innings.

In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, Garcia was 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA.