Jarlin Garcia: The MLB’s Most Unlikely New Ace Pitcher

Most baseball fans don’t know who Jarlin Garcia from the next guy. As a member of the Miami Marlins, that tends to happen from time to time. However, if he can continue his ridiculous pace, he could become the starter Miami has been missing since the tragedy of Jose Fernandez.

Through four starts and 33 innings pitched, Garcia ranks No. 2 among all qualified pitchers in earned runs allowed (4). The only guy with less, Johnny Cueto, has allowed three earned runs this year but has done it in one less inning. It should be noted that only two of his four earned runs came as a starter.

Garcia, besides being an unknown, didn’t arrive on the baseball scene with much fanfare. He signed with the Marlins in 2010 and received a small signing bonus, then toiled away in the minor leagues for almost seven seasons before getting his first big-league shot in 2017. But even though he reached the pinnacle in 2017, he didn’t light the world on fire. In 53.1 innings as a reliever, he put up a 4.73 ERA and allowed 7.9 hits per nine innings.

This season, though, the big lefty made his way out of the bullpen after two relief appearances. On April 7th, Garcia was announced as the fifth starter in Miami’s rotation. He had failed to earn the spot out of spring training but proved, rather quickly, that he belonged. In his first start on April 11th against the Mets, he proved that the bullpen wasn’t his destiny: six innings pitched and ZERO hits. As a longtime reliever, manager Don Mattingly simply could not let Garcia try for the complete game no-no — which is totally understandable.

From there, he’s continued his dominance, proving unhittable against some of the league’s best batting orders. The New York Yankees only mustered one hit in five innings. The Dodgers? Only four hits across six innings. All told, Garcia now has a much-improved 1.09 ERA and 4.1 hits per nine innings.

Miami has fed off their new 6-foot-3 star, winning six of their last seven games. While it’s unlikely that they even sniff the postseason this year, you better beleive they feel confident about Garcia and what he represents.