The Mets' Secret Weapon? Rico Garcia's Spring is Turning Heads
A breakdown of changes he made, his arsenal and what makes Rico Garcia an underrated minor league signing
The Mets signed Rico Garcia to a minor league deal in November of 2024 as a free agent from the Washington Nationals. I learned about Garcia shortly before the Mets signed him on November 12th. After a brief discourse with the great Isaac Groffman on Halloween night, Garcia quickly became my favorite minor league free agent target.
Garcia is an interesting profile. He stands just 5’9” at 201 lbs. In 2023, with the Washington Nationals, he held a 57 degree arm angle but a 5.96 ft. release height on his FF. In AAA in 2024, he lowered his release height by an inch, down to 5.85 ft. without losing any vertical movement. So far in his three Spring Training outings with statcast data, he raised his release height back to 5.97 ft. Garcia only gets 5.9 ft of extension but that isn’t too surprising given his arm angle and frame.
A couple things that stuck out to me about Garcia’s profile was the intriguing induced vertical break (IVB) he generated on his fastball. More importantly, he added a fourth pitch in 2024. A gyro slider that might be the key to his future success! Labeled as a cutter, it’s really a gyro slider that gave him a more complete arsenal in 2024.
A few reasons why Rico Garcia, in my opinion, was in AAA for the entirety of 2024 are his 2023 results and a susceptibility to the long ball. If it weren’t for his home run troubles, I don’t think would have been kept in AAA as long as he was. Despite a suboptimal 11.5% BB rate, he still put up a stellar 34.1% K rate leading to a phenomenal 22.6% K-BB rate. Among all pitchers that threw at least 40 innings in AAA, Rico Garcia ranked 14th in K-BB%. Cleaning up the home run issues allows him to get by with success regardless of his BB rate.
The Mets took full advantage of an undersized relief pitcher with a new pitch when they signed Garcia in November. Refining command of his new pitch shapes and improving his zone rates will be a point of emphasis for Garcia this spring. Here is why I believe Rico Garcia’s dominant spring will help him become a mainstay in the Mets’ bullpen…
Reverse Platoon Pitcher
Garcia has been a reverse platoon pitcher. This means he’s much better against left-handed hitters in his MLB career to this point. Unfortunately, he barely faced them in 2023, as only 29% of his pitchers were thrown to LHH.
However, in 2024, his fastball and changeup had been weapons against lefties generating whiffs at an incredible rate while suppressing hard contact. His curveball wasn’t ideal to say the least, but it was able to generate whiffs at a 41% rate in its own right.
For the Mets, this may actually be a good thing. They stand with one strong LHP in their bullpen in AJ Minter. Between Danny Young, Genesis Cabrera and Anthony Gose, a second spot in the pen for a pitcher that can attack LHH and get them out is up for grabs. Walk rate is a factor to consider, but all four of these players have issues with walks. It doesn’t eliminate or prop up any of them. That makes for a more even playing field in which Garcia might be at an inherent disadvantage due to handedness.
By adding a fourth pitch in 2024, Garcia looks to relinquish any previous issues he had against RHH as we move forward into 2025. Doing so would make him a bullpen piece that can get righties and lefties out effectively. That goes a long way for a team building a plan for their bullpen, knowing a pitcher is able to go at least one inning without having to worry about matchups as much. Advantage Garcia.
He needs to prove he can get RHH out in order to truly become a sturdy relief pitcher. Let’s break down his arsenal to explore the changes he made, how they will help him, and why my confidence in him is so high.
(Note: MLB average zone% comes from Alex Chamberlain’s Pitch Leaderboard which can be found here while pitch performances are from Baseball Savant Search found here)
Fastball (FF)
Impact & Improvements
The first pitch I want to start with is Rico Garcia’s signature FF. He’s sat around 94.5 mph with 19.0 IVB on the pitch for the last few years. As I mentioned before, he lowered his release height in 2024, which has been raised back up an inch in 2025. The intriguing part of this lies in his IVB through his spring outings. Garcia’s FF averaged 20.1 IVB to date.
Raising his release height may indicate a rise in his arm slot. Raising his arm slot above, or back to the 57 degree angle he operated at in 2023 could account for part of the IVB increase to this point. Other adjustments of efficiency like grip/seam optimization or thumb tuck could also account for increased ride on the FF. Through three statcast outings, the IVB stabilized down to 20.1 inches. This is still resulting in over a 1 inch increase from 2024. That is more than enough, which brings me to a player that recently saw immense success at the hands of a slot change, Alex Vesia.
Alex Vesia-Esque Deception
In 2024, Alex Vesia underwent a change in which he raised his arm angle from 54 degrees in 2023 to 61 degrees in 2024. With that, his release height rose from 5.66 ft to 5.85 ft. Vesia, who stands at 6’1” and 209 lbs., gets to a league average, or lower release height with a high arm slot. The corresponding mechanical changes resulted in his FF IVB increasing from 19.4 inches to 20.3 inches (+0.9 inches). Getting that much ride on his FF, which is above average for his arm slot already, from a lower release, creates great deception which makes his fastball look very flat. His fastball run value increased from (1) to (8), among multiple other improvements. Vesia established himself as one of the best left-handed relief pitchers in baseball especially with his dominant postseason performance.
Pitch Shape & 2024 Performance
Suboptimal FF command has led to Garcia’s HR troubles with 7 of his 9 HR allowed coming off the FF in 2024. While it is his bread and butter pitch, there are improvements to be made in Zone% and overall command. Personally, I’d like to see him locate the pitch up far more often. As the most used pitch in his arsenal, it’s important to create a game plan for the FF to limit as much damage as possible. Despite great shape, Garcia lacks the premier velocity of many great relief pitchers in today’s game. A dominant pitch that induces elite whiff rates against lefties, he also needs to use the FF to set up his secondaries against righties. A 40% chase rate above and around the upper third of the zone against RHH also supports throwing the pitch up for both performance and sequencing reasons. The goal is to decrease overall FF usage, but improve its performance against all hitters while elevating the rest of his arsenal.
Season Long
Pitches: 649 (57.2% Overall Usage)
Zone%: 53.5% (55.3% MLB RHP AVG)
Zone whiff%: 32%
Chase rate: 28.8%
Chase whiff%: 40.2% (on 87 swings)
xBA: .213
xSLG: .364
wOBA: .321
xwOBA: .312
Whiff%: 34.1%
Hard hit rate: 36.2%
VS RHH
Pitches: 324 (54.5% Usage vs RHH)
Zone%: 53.1% (55.8% MLB RHP vs RHH AVG)
Zone whiff%: 18.6%
Chase rate: 30.9%
Chase whiff%: 36.2% (on 47 swings)
xBA: .246
xSLG: .363
wOBA: .304
xwOBA: .313
Whiff%: 23.6%
Hard hit rate: 36.2%
VS LHH
Pitches: 325 (60.2% Usage vs LHH)
Zone%: 53.8% (54.8% MLB RHP vs LHH AVG)
Zone whiff%: 44.2%
Chase rate: 26.7%
Chase whiff%: 45% (on 40 swings)
xBA: .168
xSLG: .366
wOBA: .343
xwOBA: .311
Whiff%: 44.4%
Hard hit rate: 36.1%
2025 Outlook & Usage
Rico Garcia’s FF profile and release traits are reminiscent of Alex Vesia. Compared to Vesia’s 2024, Garcia is getting about the same IVB from a 2 inch higher release height. The improved shape allows him to get a similar aspect of deception on the pitch. His FF didn’t perform as well up in the zone in 2023, but now that he’s added at least an inch of IVB, that should help miss more bats and create weaker contact in the upper third.
The new ride on the FF supports multiple new approaches with the FF. His 31% chase rate against RHH shows how important it is to locate the pitch higher in the zone more consistently this year. He was able to throw it up, but his 2023 heat maps show that he threw lower in the zone more. Focusing on solely getting his FF to the top rail is a priority.
Against LHH, the 44% zone whiff rate as practically a two pitch guy is mind boggling. The changeup isn’t much different and it paints a colorful picture of just how dominant Garcia can be against lefties. Overall, his FF inducing a 34% whiff rate against all hitters is ridiculous. MLB league average is around 22% for FF. Now that the shape has improved even more, this pitch can be scary good, especially if Garcia is in AAA. This newer, elite FF shape can vastly improve his performance in 2025 and will continue to be the anchor of his repertoire.
Gyro Slider (SL)
Impact:
A high slot pronator, Garcia owns a very north-south arsenal, headlined by a FF. Throwing the FF 58% of the time to RHH, he supplemented the remaining usage with the KC and changeup. The changeup’s quality of contact (QoC) was awful and the KC wasn’t a great secondary pitch either, despite strong shape. To complement his arsenal, Garcia needed a bridge pitch between his riding FF and depthy KC. This is where the gyro slider fits in perfectly.
I briefly mentioned the SL at the beginning of this article. While it was Garcia’s FF that got my attention and pulled me to him, it was the gyro slider, the new pitch he added in 2024 that gave me so much confidence in his ability to break out this year. The pitch is great on its own, but gives Garcia a second and arguably primary weapon to attack RHH with.
A gyro slider is a subclassification of slider where the movement is as close to the (0,0) point on a short-form movement plot, which uses IVB instead of true vertical drop. It more accurately measures the induced movement the pitcher creates on the ball as opposed to alternative effects like gravity. Below are screenshots of Rico Garcia’s 2023 short-form movement plot vs. his long-form movement plot for comparison, courtesy of Baseball Savant.
Pitch Shape & 2024 Performance
The pitch stands at a 1.1 IVB / -1.0 HB shape at 84.7 mph. While Garcia’s FF has 19 inches of IVB and his KC had -10 IVB in 2024, it was a perfect pitch to tie the entire arsenal together. Garcia’s new toy was a nuisance to RHH as he used it to induce almost a 50% whiff. A new, elite QoC pitch that kept righties at bay.
VS RHH
Pitches: 127 (21.3% Usage vs RHH)
Zone%: 35% (43.7% MLB RHP vs RHH AVG)
Zone whiff%: 29.6%
Chase rate: 32%
Chase whiff%: 75% (on 20 swings)
xBA: .126
xSLG: .175
wOBA: .209
xwOBA: .184
Whiff%: 48.9%
Hard hit rate: 27.3%
2025 Outlook & Usage
The pitch shape has remained the same so far in ST and looks to be a pitch of emphasis for him in order to create more feel. Despite the zone struggles, the pitch neutralizes RHH so much that its usage has to increase from the 21% it was in 2024. If he zones it a healthy amount, he could plausibly be a majority two pitch guy against RHH, along with the KC for whiffs below the zone. The SL suppressed quality contact, supported by its .175 xSLG, which was the lowest of all his pitches against any handed hitters. This opens the door for much lower FF usage. It’s a simple addition to his arsenal that is making a major impact. Early returns in ST show it’s his second most used pitch and one that can really tie his arsenal together, elevating his ceiling to be an impact reliever in the big leagues.
Knuckle-Curve (KC)
Impact & Shape Change
His primary breaking ball throughout his career, Garcia’s KC possesses a unique shape. Not completely surprising given his high arm angle, the almost straight downer shape gives him a great depth with limited horizontal break. He has above average velocity on the pitch which contributes to a death ball shape.
To this point in spring training, Garcia’s KC looks to have restored the vertical break it did in 2023. His 2025 KC now has -15.3 IVB with similar HB at 82.9 mph. The steeper shape brings hope for more whiffs or at least good QoC, however, it’s maintaining the velocity that is important.
Pitch Shape & 2024 Performance
His 2024 knuckle-curve carried a shape of -11.0 IVB / -3.3 HB at 81.9 mph. His primary breaker finally had a partner to play off of and the results showed. What was a respectable pitch at the MLB level in 2023 became dominant in 2024. Naturally, his pitches would do better in AAA than in MLB, but even from AAA in 2023, his xSLG on the KC vs RHH lowered by 73 points. A significant improvement. 75% of his KCs were thrown against RHH, further emphasizing the importance of an added bridge pitch. There is a likelihood that Garcia continues throwing the KC to both hands due to its shape. His season long & RHH performances are as follows…
Season Long:
Pitches: 137 (12.1% Arsenal Usage)
Zone%: 44.5% (43.1% MLB RHP AVG)
Zone whiff%: 16.7%
Chase rate: 21.1%
Chase whiff%: 68.8% (on 16 swings)
xBA: .170
xSLG: .351
wOBA: .368
xwOBA: .218
Whiff%: 34.8%
Hard hit rate: 42.9%
vs RHH:
Pitches: 104 (17.5% Usage vs RHH)
Zone%: 45.2% (43% MLB RHP vs RHH AVG)
Zone whiff%: 16.7%
Chase rate: 17.5%
Chase whiff%: 70% (on 10 swings)
xBA: .154
xSLG: 195
wOBA: .281
xwOBA: .150
Whiff%: 32.4%
Hard hit rate: 33.3%
2025 Outlook & Usage
Garcia has returned to the 2023 KC shape that induced a 42.9% whiff against RHH in 2023 on 14 swings. The QoC on that pitch wasn’t ideal, but not awful. The addition of the gyro slider should help aid the contact quality against RHH now that there isn’t such a disparity between FF & KC shape. He zones the KC a very healthy amount, actually on the good side of average. Despite that, the QoC on the pitch was great. The massive 131 point difference between his wOBA and xwOBA speaks to how well the pitch can induce weak contact and just how important adding the slider was.
Despite a shape that looks like it could be platoon neutral, as many death balls can be/are, Garcia’s KC doesn’t seem to perform that well against LHH plus his FF & CH are just so dominant against lefties that I don’t think it’s very necessary to throw it against them. A strong and almost equal third option should make Garcia formidable against RHH, but he needs to throw it more. All three of these pitches are playing off each other. While the SL greatly helps the FF & KC, the entire mix plays off each other to fool hitters and needs to be utilized.
Changeup (CH)
Impact
The changeup is what makes Rico Garcia a reverse platoon pitcher. Whether he’s been in MLB or AAA, the CH has been his best whiff pitch and QoC pitch. Even in his small sample in MLB, he posted a 64% whiff on 64 pitches in 2023.
Changeups are mainly known to be better against opposite handed hitters (OHH). This is the case with Garcia and what has limited his effectiveness as a relief pitcher. His feel for the CH, despite poor shape, plays so well off the FF and allows him to shutdown LHH. Unfortunately the pitch gets hammered by RHH. The elite CH performance gives him a floor of “specialist vs LHH”; however, it also raises his ceiling of being a well rounded reliever that is capable of pitching to any part of a lineup. This is especially important come playoff time, when the Mets’ struggles against left-handed hitters became evident against the Dodgers.
Pitch Shape & 2024 Performance
Garcia’s strongest secondary weapon, his CH, dominates LHH. The shape is interesting to say the least. A changeup with lots of IVB is typically not good. Generally, pitchers want to see at least 8-10 inches of IVB separation from their FF & CH as well as 8-10+ mph separation from their FF. Against lefties, Garcia’s CH had 14 IVB / 15.5 HB at 84.7 mph. He had 5 inches of IVB separation from his fastball. The 10 mph of separation is likely what helps him induce whiffs and minimize hard contact. It’s the pitch he looks to have the second best feel of, and the results show…
VS LHH
Pitches: 177 (32.8% Usage vs LHH)
Zone%: 44.1% (38.1% MLB RHP vs LHH AVG)
Zone whiff%: 51.9%
Chase rate: 14.1%
Chase whiff%: 57.1% (on 14 swings)
xBA: .134
xSLG: .233
wOBA: .173
xwOBA: .196
Whiff%: 53.0%
Hard hit rate: 11.1%
2025 Outlook & Usage
So far in the spring, Rico Garcia has faced one LHH. Which explains why he’s only thrown one CH, as he shouldn’t be throwing it against RHH at all. The addition of the SL, allows him to have three pitches against RHH so he can now throw the CH exclusively to LHH. He zones the pitch very well, exemplifying his feel for the pitch, on time of a ridiculous 51.9% zone whiff rate. It’s quietly his best pitch, but he can only throw it against lefties. The CH usage against LHH should increase from its 36.4% in 2024. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Becoming Platoon Neutral + Usages
VS LHH
Garcia’s potential is anchored by his two best pitches neutralizing LHH. The FF/CH combo should be the two pitches he uses against LHH. As great as the FF is, he was prone to getting burned by it.
The feel for his CH is probably the best of any pitch, combined with his ability to zone it at an above rate, not to mention the absurd zone whiff rate it posted last year. Leaning into how the CH plays off the elite FF shape is my priority. Suggested usage vs. LHH:
FF: 45-50%
CH: 40-45%
KC: <5%
SL: <5%
VS RHH
The newest member of Garcia’s arsenal makes him a three pitch guy against RHH. So far, he’s been headlined by heavy FF usage. Despite 2024 improvements, the FF QoC doesn’t outclass the secondaries. However, I’m optimistic the added IVB will help mightily in that department. Regardless, I still think the usage needs to be lowered.
The gyro slider is another pitch that helps him get RHH out that also bridges to his death ball knuckle-curve. Both pitches are capable of minimizing damage while maximizing whiffs.
A heavier and almost equal mix to keep RHH off balance is the focus. Shifting those secondaries to the majority of Garcia’s usage is the plan.
Suggested usage vs RHH
FF: 30-35%
SL: 30-35%
KC: 30-35%
CH: <5%
Next Step: Refining Command & Shapes
After improving his FF shape, continuing to refine feel for his secondaries, and now owning a fresh four pitch mix, Rico Garcia has leveled up ahead of the 2025 season. While I’m confident in him, the 26-man roster continues to be elusive. He was reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday morning. Good thing Rico Garcia has been making the most of his opportunities. All hope is not lost. His pitch plots (posted below) so far show that the Mets are using the slider as a prominent pitch in his arsenal. His 2024 data indicated he needed to refine his feel for the pitch and zone it more.
I see the reassignment as the Mets focusing on further development in regards to Garcia’s arsenal to best set him up for the entire year. I’m not comparing the two as pitchers, but it took Tylor Megill’s injury early last year for Reed Garrett to crack the Mets bullpen. I do not think Garcia is that good, but starting the year in AAA is by no means a sign of failure. As he continues developing this spring and through the start of the season, I am confident Rico Garcia will continue to improve in the Mets organization. Once the time is right, he will get his opportunity, and I don’t think he’ll look back.
2025 Outlook & Role
With only two bullpen spots up for grabs, Garcia isn’t expected to be a setup man in the late innings. However, his ability to go after any hitter that steps up to the plate makes him a valuable middle reliever in my opinion. His two best pitches allow him to put away LHH more effortlessly. The more he faces lefties, the more confidence I have in him. Putting him in the best positions to succeed is how I would go about utilizing him. Whether he comes in to start an inning or in the middle of a jam, I would go to Rico Garcia if at least two LHH are due up in the next four batters.
While it’s not as sexy writing about a middle reliever, great teams cannot afford to struggle at maintaining leads, or keeping deficits to a minimum in the middle innings. With starting pitchers seemingly pitching less and less each year, middle relievers are going to continue being important. Additionally, with how important it is to get outs in the playoffs, a platoon neutral pitcher that you are confident in getting both lefties & righties out, is imperative to lengthen the staff and keep pitchers fresh. Rico Garcia can be that impact relief pitcher that stabilizes games for the Mets in 2025 and comes into any situation to neutralize the opposition.
His name is Rico Garcia. Now you know who he is. One of many intriguing pitchers the Mets brought in on minor league deals. My goal was to share my thoughts on Rico Garcia so you can see in him what I see. It’s time to hop on the Rico Garcia train because soon enough, he’s going to be a name to know in this Mets bullpen.
COOK!