Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Willy Garcia had a prodictive year in the minors last season, and looks to provide depth in the outfield for Pittsburgh if he is needed in 2016.
The starting outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016 is pretty much set with Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Gregory Polanco. However, if one or two of those players gets hurt, who do the Pirates have that is ready to come up and provide depth in the outfield position? For the Pirates, that guy would be minor leaguer Willy Garcia who spent most of last year playing for Triple A Indianapolis.
Garcia has worked his way through the Pirates minor league system since signing out of the Dominican Republic back in 2009. For Garcia, it has been a tough road through the system as he has been stuck behind the likes of Marte and Polanco while climbing the latter. In 2016, he is expected to play regularly in Triple A Indianapolis where he played 53 games in 2015.
In those 53 games, Garcia hit .314 with 5 home runs and 29 RBI. Garcia is a guy who has shown some pop in his bat throughout his professional career, and he can hit the ball for a high average. Over the course of his career his average has ranged anywhere from .240-.275. This is consistent for a professional hitter and proves he has been able to produce at the minor league level.
Garcia is able to find holes in the defense when he makes contact with the ball as his BABIP sat at .336 last season. If Garcia makes contact with the ball it has a good chance of finding a hole, and Garcia can use his speed to manufacture base hits that are otherwise not their. Garcia is a big singles hitter as only 39 of his 132 hits went for extra bases last season. However, Garcia's speed allows him to be a threat to steal a base at any time.
Last season, Garcia stole 4 bases in just six attempts for a 66% stolen base percentage. While he didnt steal a high number of bases, he did not get caught when he did. This will prove useful for the Pirates if he makes it to the major league level in 2016. If he can come off of the bench and provide a speedy pair of legs, he will help out the Pirates tremendously in 2016.
A problem we face with Garcia is his strike out numbers. He struck out 123 times last season while walking only 23 times for a strikeout to walk ratio of 5.43. Garcia has to lower the number of strike outs we see in 2016 and increase his number of walks. The key to a good bench player is being able to come off the bench, work the count, and get on base. For Garcia, he strikes out entirely too much and it has hurt him in his minor league career. Garcia has struck out 100 or more times in four out of his six major league seasons.
Garcia saw 3.72 pitches per at bats last season which is decent but not great. For a fast top of the lineup guy like Garcia, working the count is key. If Garcia can work on staying patient and waiting for his pitch to come across the strike zone, he could be a much better option for the Pirates to chose from. With Austin Meadows rising quickly through the minor league ranks, time is running out for Garcia to prove that he is good enough to make the major leagues.
As far as major league time goes this season, I dont see Garcia seeing much time on this Pirates team. However, I do think that Garcia will mature in Triple A and become a more patient hitter at the plate. And who knows, if some injuries happen to the major league club, we could be seeing Garcia in the majors in 2016. For the Pirates, there are a lot of good options for outfield depth in 2016 whether it be a guy like Garcia or a long-term option like Austin Meadows. One thing is for sure, the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield will be set for now and into the future.
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