Nick Garcia

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #17 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Garcia was one of the biggest risers on the West Coast in the 2020 draft, with many Southern California area scouts writing him in as the top pitching prospect in the area. Garcia played third base as a freshman at Division III Chapman in Orange, Calif., but converted to pitching as a sophomore and was named Most Outstanding Player of the D-III College World Series. As a junior, Garcia moved into a starting role and saw his draft stock take off, eventually signing for $1.2 million in the third round.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: While Garcia is new to pitching, he possesses starter traits, with a strong 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame and an easy and smooth delivery that allowed him to pound the strike zone with a three-pitch mix in college. His fastball typically sat in the 92-95 mph range, but he could run it up to 98 at his best. Garcia also mixed in a pair of potentially above-average secondary offerings with an upper-80s slider and a cutter in the same velocity range. Garcia has also thrown a curveball and a changeup, though both pitches were used infrequently and will need further refinement to profile as consistently average offerings.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia comes with plenty of risk as a D-III arm who has yet to be tested consistently against high-quality hitters, but given his surprising polish and pitch-mix has plenty of upside as well.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #56 prospect in 2020 draft
  Garcia played third base his freshman year at Chapman before converting to pitching as a sophomore. He served as the closer on Chapman’s 2019 Division III national championship team and was named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. Garcia moved to the Panthers rotation this spring and became one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country before the season shut down. A strong 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Garcia has an easy operation and smooth delivery, allowing him to maintain his stuff and pound the strike zone with all three of his pitches. He throws his fastball in the 92-95 mph range, touching 97-98, and backs it up with an upper-80s slider and mid-80s cutter that both have a chance to be above-average. Garcia has a limited track record as a starter and has rarely faced good competition, but he held his own pitching in relief in the Cape Cod League last summer. He is also young for a college junior and will be barely 21 on draft day. Garcia’s stuff, delivery, youth and fresh arm have teams interested on the draft’s first day. He is in line to be the highest Division III player selected since the Nationals drafted Jordan Zimmermann in the second round in 2007 out of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Garcia was one of the biggest risers on the West Coast in the 2020 draft, with many Southern California area scouts writing him in as the top pitching prospect in the area. Garcia played third base as a freshman at Division III Chapman in Orange, Calif., but converted to pitching as a sophomore and was named Most Outstanding Player of the D-III College World Series. As a junior, Garcia moved into a starting role and saw his draft stock take off, eventually signing for $1.2 million in the third round.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: While Garcia is new to pitching, he possesses starter traits, with a strong 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame and an easy and smooth delivery that allowed him to pound the strike zone with a three-pitch mix in college. His fastball typically sat in the 92-95 mph range, but he could run it up to 98 at his best. Garcia also mixed in a pair of potentially above-average secondary offerings with an upper-80s slider and a cutter in the same velocity range. Garcia has also thrown a curveball and a changeup, though both pitches were used infrequently and will need further refinement to profile as consistently average offerings.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia comes with plenty of risk as a D-III arm who has yet to be tested consistently against high-quality hitters, but given his surprising polish and pitch-mix has plenty of upside as well.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Garcia was one of the biggest risers on the West Coast in the 2020 draft, with many Southern California area scouts writing him in as the top pitching prospect in the area. Garcia played third base as a freshman at Division III Chapman in Orange, Calif., but converted to pitching as a sophomore and was named Most Outstanding Player of the D-III College World Series. As a junior, Garcia moved into a starting role and saw his draft stock take off, eventually signing for $1.2 million in the third round.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: While Garcia is new to pitching, he possesses starter traits, with a strong 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame and an easy and smooth delivery that allowed him to pound the strike zone with a three-pitch mix in college. His fastball typically sat in the 92-95 mph range, but he could run it up to 98 at his best. Garcia also mixed in a pair of potentially above-average secondary offerings with an upper-80s slider and a cutter in the same velocity range. Garcia has also thrown a curveball and a changeup, though both pitches were used infrequently and will need further refinement to profile as consistently average offerings.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia comes with plenty of risk as a D-III arm who has yet to be tested consistently against high-quality hitters, but given his surprising polish and pitch-mix has plenty of upside as well.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  Garcia played third base his freshman year at Chapman before converting to pitching as a sophomore. He served as the closer on Chapman’s 2019 Division III national championship team and was named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. Garcia moved to the Panthers rotation this spring and became one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country before the season shut down. A strong 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Garcia has an easy operation and smooth delivery, allowing him to maintain his stuff and pound the strike zone with all three of his pitches. He throws his fastball in the 92-95 mph range, touching 97-98, and backs it up with an upper-80s slider and mid-80s cutter that both have a chance to be above-average. Garcia has a limited track record as a starter and has rarely faced good competition, but he held his own pitching in relief in the Cape Cod League last summer. He is also young for a college junior and will be barely 21 on draft day. Garcia’s stuff, delivery, youth and fresh arm have teams interested on the draft’s first day. He is in line to be the highest Division III player selected since the Nationals drafted Jordan Zimmermann in the second round in 2007 out of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
• December, 2019 Scouting Report
  Garcia played third base his freshman year at Chapman before converting to pitching as a sophomore. He served as the closer on Chapman’s 2019 Division III national championship team and was named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. Garcia moved to the Panthers rotation this spring and became one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country before the season shut down. A strong 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Garcia has an easy operation and smooth delivery, allowing him to maintain his stuff and pound the strike zone with all three of his pitches. He throws his fastball in the 92-95 mph range, touching 97-98, and backs it up with an upper-80s slider and mid-80s cutter that both have a chance to be above-average. Garcia has a limited track record as a starter and has rarely faced good competition, but he held his own pitching in relief in the Cape Cod League last summer. He is also young for a college junior and will be barely 21 on draft day. Garcia’s stuff, delivery, youth and fresh arm have teams interested on the draft’s first day. He is in line to be the highest Division III player selected since the Nationals drafted Jordan Zimmermann in the second round in 2007 out of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.