The Seattle Mariners called up 25-year-old left-handed reliever prospect Brandyn Garcia from Triple-A Tacoma on Monday.
In a corresponding move, they optioned rookie right-handed reliever Juan Burgos to Tacoma.
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Garcia has a 3.51 ERA with 42 strikeouts and 17 walks over 33 1/3 innings between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma this season. He hasn’t thrown enough innings to qualify for the minor league leaderboard, but his 55.4% groundball rate would rank sixth among all qualified Double-A and Triple-A pitchers, according to Fangraphs.
The 6-foot-4 Garcia is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 13 prospect in the Mariners’ system and by Baseball America as the club’s No. 19 prospect.
Garcia had a relatively underwhelming college career at Quinnipiac University and Texas A&M, but the Mariners saw enough potential to draft him in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He immediately excelled in Seattle’s renowned pitching pipeline, posting a 2.25 ERA with 134 strikeouts over 116 innings last year split between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas.
Garcia, who sports a three-quarters delivery, has experience as both a starter and reliever. He primarily started during his three years at Quinnipiac, then moved to the bullpen for his one year at Texas A&M. He went back to a starting role last season after being drafted, but has since return to the bullpen in anticipation of an MLB callup.
Burgos, 25, has appeared in just four games with the Mariners since having his contract selected from the Rainiers on June 28. He made his MLB debut with two innings on July 1 against Kansas City. Over 6 2/3 innings for Seattle, he has a 4.05 ERA (three earned runs) and 1.35 WHIP with eight strikeouts and two walks.
The Mariners (53-46) open a three-game series against the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers (59-40) on Monday night. The Brewers are riding a 10-game win streak and are tied for the National League Central lead. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. Radio coverage on Seattle Sports will begin with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m.
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