Luis Garcia

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Houston Astros #1 prospect in 2021
  Fastball: 55. Slider: 50. Changeup: 70. Curveball: 45. Cutter: 40. Control: 45.
  
  TRACK RECORD: The Astros signed Garcia out of Venezuela in 2017 for $20,000 when he was a 20-year-old touching the low 90s. He started to touch the mid 90s later that summer. After reaching high Class A Fayetteville in 2019, Garcia made his major league debut as a September callup in 2020, then threw two scoreless innings as the opener in Houston’s 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Garcia pitches off a fastball that ranges from 92-97 mph. His best pitch is his plus changeup that flashes as a 70 on the 20-80 scale with late sink and fade. Garcia sells it to look like a fastball out of his hand, but it has 11 mph of separation that consistently gets both lefties and righties waving out front. His low-80s slider is an average pitch that he used effectively last year, with sharp, late break at times. His 76-78 mph curveball is a fringe-average pitch that blends too much into his slider. Garcia also introduced a hard 86-88 mph cutter with mixed results. He has a track record of missing bats, though his command is still below-average.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia has the swing-and-miss stuff to develop into a mid-rotation starter if his location improves. He’s a potential closer if he stays in the bullpen.
• 
  Ranked Houston Astros #13 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Luis Garcia is a rather common name around baseball with six players with that moniker playing in the affiliated minors in 2019. Any evaluator who saw Luis H. Garcia pitch for the Astros in 2018 and 2019 may wonder if they were confusing him with another Lus Garcia. In 2018, he was just a run-of-the-mill righthander with an 89-92 mph fastball and a promising changeup. By the end of the 2019 season, he was showing flashes of three plus pitches with a dominating fastball.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Garcia was the most well-rounded of Fayetteville's wave of hard-throwing starters. He figured out how to pitch with average stuff before he developed velocity. Garcia was sitting 92-97 mph in the second half of the season with a plus changeup and an average curve and slider. Garcia isn't just a thrower—there's some feel for setting up hitters. He has fringe-average control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia has more starter traits than most of the hard-throwing young Astros arms. Thanks to his fastball/changeup combo and his chance of developing average control, he has mid-rotation potential.
• 
  Ranked Houston Astros #31 prospect in 2018
  When the Astros signed Garcia in 2017 as a late-blooming 19-year-old, they believed they were getting a polished righthander. But once he got into the team's complex, he quickly proved to be more than that. Garcia has gained velocity to go with his impressive feel. He touched 93-95 mph this season, which is up from the 89-92 he threw when he signed. Garcia's slower 70-72 mph curveball is a big breaker that can lock up hitters. Most Dominican Summer League hitters were left helpless by the combination, as he struck out more than 14 batters per nine innings in his very brief DSL debut. His changeup is much further away and will have to develop as he comes to the States. Because of his age, Garcia is going to have to move a little quicker than a 16 or 17-year-old international signee, but he has enough feel and two present pitches to handle some aggressive promotions.

• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 55. Slider: 50. Changeup: 70. Curveball: 45. Cutter: 40. Control: 45.
  
  TRACK RECORD: The Astros signed Garcia out of Venezuela in 2017 for $20,000 when he was a 20-year-old touching the low 90s. He started to touch the mid 90s later that summer. After reaching high Class A Fayetteville in 2019, Garcia made his major league debut as a September callup in 2020, then threw two scoreless innings as the opener in Houston’s 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Garcia pitches off a fastball that ranges from 92-97 mph. His best pitch is his plus changeup that flashes as a 70 on the 20-80 scale with late sink and fade. Garcia sells it to look like a fastball out of his hand, but it has 11 mph of separation that consistently gets both lefties and righties waving out front. His low-80s slider is an average pitch that he used effectively last year, with sharp, late break at times. His 76-78 mph curveball is a fringe-average pitch that blends too much into his slider. Garcia also introduced a hard 86-88 mph cutter with mixed results. He has a track record of missing bats, though his command is still below-average.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia has the swing-and-miss stuff to develop into a mid-rotation starter if his location improves. He’s a potential closer if he stays in the bullpen.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 55. Slider: 50. Changeup: 70. Curveball: 45. Cutter: 40. Control: 45.
  
  TRACK RECORD: The Astros signed Garcia out of Venezuela in 2017 for $20,000 when he was a 20-year-old touching the low 90s. He started to touch the mid 90s later that summer. After reaching high Class A Fayetteville in 2019, Garcia made his major league debut as a September callup in 2020, then threw two scoreless innings as the opener in Houston’s 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Garcia pitches off a fastball that ranges from 92-97 mph. His best pitch is his plus changeup that flashes as a 70 on the 20-80 scale with late sink and fade. Garcia sells it to look like a fastball out of his hand, but it has 11 mph of separation that consistently gets both lefties and righties waving out front. His low-80s slider is an average pitch that he used effectively last year, with sharp, late break at times. His 76-78 mph curveball is a fringe-average pitch that blends too much into his slider. Garcia also introduced a hard 86-88 mph cutter with mixed results. He has a track record of missing bats, though his command is still below-average.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia has the swing-and-miss stuff to develop into a mid-rotation starter if his location improves. He’s a potential closer if he stays in the bullpen.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Luis Garcia is a rather common name around baseball with six players with that moniker playing in the affiliated minors in 2019. Any evaluator who saw Luis H. Garcia pitch for the Astros in 2018 and 2019 may wonder if they were confusing him with another Lus Garcia. In 2018, he was just a run-of-the-mill righthander with an 89-92 mph fastball and a promising changeup. By the end of the 2019 season, he was showing flashes of three plus pitches with a dominating fastball.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Garcia was the most well-rounded of Fayetteville’s wave of hard-throwing starters. He figured out how to pitch with average stuff before he developed velocity. Garcia was sitting 92-97 mph in the second half of the season with a plus changeup and an average curve and slider. Garcia isn’t just a thrower—there’s some feel for setting up hitters. He has fringe-average control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia has more starter traits than most of the hard-throwing young Astros arms. Thanks to his fastball/changeup combo and his chance of developing average control, he has mid-rotation potential.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Luis Garcia is a rather common name around baseball with six players with that moniker playing in the affiliated minors in 2019. Any evaluator who saw Luis H. Garcia pitch for the Astros in 2018 and 2019 may wonder if they were confusing him with another Lus Garcia. In 2018, he was just a run-of-the-mill righthander with an 89-92 mph fastball and a promising changeup. By the end of the 2019 season, he was showing flashes of three plus pitches with a dominating fastball.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Garcia was the most well-rounded of Fayetteville's wave of hard-throwing starters. He figured out how to pitch with average stuff before he developed velocity. Garcia was sitting 92-97 mph in the second half of the season with a plus changeup and an average curve and slider. Garcia isn't just a thrower—there's some feel for setting up hitters. He has fringe-average control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Garcia has more starter traits than most of the hard-throwing young Astros arms. Thanks to his fastball/changeup combo and his chance of developing average control, he has mid-rotation potential.