Yimi Garcia

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #12 prospect in 2015
  Garcia hasn't started a game since Rookie ball, but he plowed through the minors to reach the majors in 2014 despite the lack of an attention-grabbing pitch. He has averaged 11 strikeouts per nine innings in the minors while keeping his walk rate low, and he performed at a similar level with Los Angeles. Garcia throws 89-95 mph with good movement. He gets great extension, which makes his fastball sneak up on hitters. He made a mechanical adjustment to separate his hands away from his head to try to stay on top of his fringe-average 79-83 mph slider. It has tight spin but occasionally comes in flat like a cutter. Garcia has also messed around with a splitter, but he doesn't use it much. He pounds the strike zone and locates his stuff especially well down in the zone. That control and deception explain why he's been so effective, and that should allow him to continue to have success in short relief outings and potentially throw highleverage innings. He could play a key role in Dodgers' 2015 bullpen.
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  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #13 prospect in 2014
  Aside from a handful of starts in Rookie ball, Garcia has spent nearly his entire career as a reliever since signing with the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic before the 2009 season. Despite generating little prospect buzz early in his career, he has maintained strong strikeout rates over the last three seasons, including a strong 2013 campaign as the closer at Double-A Chattanooga, followed by a trip to the Arizona Fall League. He can throw his 89-95 mph fastball with cutting action or late armside run. He has a full-circle arm action and gets good extension out front, which makes his fastball seem to have late hop, sneaking up on hitters faster than they expect. Garcia's tight-spinning, low-80s slider flashes average with late action but is usually a fringe-average offering, often coming in with cutter-like action on a flat plane. He added a fringy mid-80s changeup to his mix in 2013 that at times has splitter-like action, but he needs to tighten up both of his secondary weapons. Garcia lacks a true plus pitch, but he fills up the zone and finds a way to miss bats, which should allow him to be an effective set-up man. He likely opens 2014 at Triple-A Albuquerque.