You may not have noticed, but Rico Garcia has been one of the best relievers in baseball this season. Over 30 appearances, the 32-year-old Baltimore Orioles right-hander has a 1.29 ERA, 3.25 FIP, and a 31% strikeout rate. In addition, he has allowed just nine hits in 28 innings and boasts a 3-1 record with four saves.
If you don’t follow the Orioles, you can be forgiven for not being familiar with Garcia. Claimed off waivers from the New York Mets last August, Garcia enters the current campaign having thrown 70 major league innings since his 2019 debut, and has done so while playing for seven different teams. Indeed, the 30th round pick in the 2016 draft out of Hawaii Pacific University had a record that included one win, four losses, zero saves, and a 5.27 ERA.
What is behind his success? Based on interviews with both Garcia and Orioles pitching coach Drew French, that’s a question with no easy answer. While the good guy never got better, it’s not like he suddenly saw his speed increase, introduced a bad new voice, or discovered a secret formula.
I was impressed by Garcia’s response when I asked about his evolution as a striker, and, what has led to his incredible level of success.
“If you look at my mechanics, every year they’re usually different,” Garcia said. “I think I’m learning little by little how my body reacts to different angles and angles. That’s something I’ve had to try to do well, get those points of reference when I deliver. From now on, I think everything is in the right place.”
While that answer made sense, it inspired the following: Does a better understanding of his machines really make a meaningful difference?
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“I would say so, at least as far as I can control,” he replied. “But I can do the same thing and guys can beat me. In the end, I can’t control everything I try to focus on, because this game is a strange game. You can feel better and the results don’t go your way.”
Garcia feels that the quality of his stuff is also going in the right direction, but when push comes to shove, how he moves on the mound is very important.
“I think it depends on my mechanics,” he told me. “I think it’s how it is for a lot of people. How things feel in certain parts of your delivery, and how you release the ball, plays a big role. Where I am now, everything is clicking at the right times.
“The biggest thing is how deep I go in my back leg,” Garcia continued. “Before, I wouldn’t sit on it. Sometimes, but it didn’t always change how I get on the mound. One thing I’ve learned is that all my pitches are different depending on how long I get on the mound. With my fastball, I tend to sit a little longer and swing down the mound, focus on getting that curve, get a lot of change, get a lot of change. back, then rotate and pitch.
Told that the 5-foot-9, 215-pound Garcia stressed his equipment, French provided more details.
“What we’ve found from the data, and Hawkeye, is that his best version isn’t slowing down much,” the playing coach said. “He’s got a lot of depth in his back leg, and to give him the best stability on his front leg, we have to make sure he’s a little bit taller to get the leg up. Even when he’s down on the mound, he’s got a very low release. There’s one of these types of feel that you get on his fastball, which helps bring up the point and increases his point and helps release the point. The trick piece and he does a good job of keeping his torso off the side.
Then there’s Garcia’s well-balanced four-pitch mix, which includes a four-seam fastball (34.2 usage), a changeup (27%), a slider (21.1%), and a curveball (17.6%). In the face of it, French provided an interesting comp.
“If you look at the package as a whole, it’s really interesting,” French said. “Velocity — he’s a mid-90s guy who maintains that well — and kind of a two-plane fastball. He’s got that four-seam ride-and-run, and he’s got a changeup like that. You don’t see a lot of guys in the game with that changeup right now, because everybody’s been so good at catching steals.
“To be honest, when we got him last year, he was in a dark place with this change,” continued French. “So we tossed around the idea of seeing if he could handle split, or if he could handle maybe a two-seam direction, but we ended up sticking with his four-seam changeup. It’s not this big vertical split from his fastball. It reminds me a little bit of Marco Estrada. Marco Estrada had a really big changeup. [the way he sells it] very good. He gets guys to swing the bat because he threatens them with his fastball, and he’s very intentional with his changeup. You tend to put it in the right place.”
Garcia is on the same page when it comes to his changeup, which has long been part of his repertoire. Knowing that he’s “not the type to go down,” he focuses on throwing in place rather than looking to chase. That was something he learned over time, with awareness that led to a better voice. His breakers are new. Garcia learned his slider in 2024, while his current curveball was delivered with a spiked grip from Triple-A teammate Austin Pruitt in 2023.
“I’m not really going to jump on you either,” French said with breaking balls. “He’s got this strong gyro slider, and this very short curveball. Guys will call it the ‘death ball’ now. Jordan Montgomery, who came out of the 2023 playoffs; that’s where he really became famous. So, he’s got this pretty unique package where nothing jumps off the page visually, but he’s put everything together and he’s got certain types of bats. He’s got protection against a lot of problems that big league hitters have. He’s got solutions. in those problems.
Then there’s Garcia’s four-seam fastball, which, unlike his curveball and slider, hasn’t changed. Then again, it’s like that – though not in the metrical way.
“I’m sure that, at least for me, the batsmen see the spin,” explained Garcia. “So, I’m going to change the label. The label is on the right for the lefties, and for the righties, I’ll have it on the left. I don’t remember who told me that – this was a few years ago – but I tried it and I liked it. If I open the label so they can’t see the blue dot, it might give me an advantage. The hitters told me they might tell me, and they can tell the difference when others can’t see the difference. It.”
The degree to which it makes a difference is actually up for debate, but one thing that is not up for debate is that Garcia is having the best season of his career. Is this the most fun you’ve ever had as a striker?
“In terms of success, yes,” answered the Honolulu native. “Obviously every day you get to go out and play this game is blessed. It’s one of those things where you want to enjoy success, but at the same time, you need to keep working at it every day. Things can change at any time.”
As expected, Garcia was taken deep by Randy Arozarena last night, a 10th inning, cross-field shot that proved crucial in the Seattle Mariners’ 6-5 victory over the Orioles. The pitch, an 0-1 slider, came right off the plate. As Garcia said, you can feel much better and the results don’t go your way.
