Jaime Garcia for Rookie of the Year

While all the hype was on the Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg, a future recipient of Tommy John Surgery, St. Louis Cardinals rookie pitcher Jaime Garcia has taken Major League Baseball by storm.  Garcia (born July 8, 1986) was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 30th round of the 2004 first year player draft, but after not signing he re- entered the draft the following year.  In 2005 the St. Louis Cardinals drafted Jaime in the 22nd round under the advisory of new scout Joe Almaraz, who had moved to them after the O's.

He started to pitch in the Cardinals Minor League system in 2006 at Class A Quad Cities.  With Quad Jaime went  5-4 with a 2.90 ERA before he was called up to High A Palm Beach where he duplicated his previous record but his ERA raised about a whole point but was still a solid 3.84.  He followed that with an up and down Year at Double A (AA) Springfield going 5-9 but he did have a respectable ERA of 3.75.  The following year his slow progression continued, as he went a combined 7-6 with a 3.65 ERA and earned a cup of coffee in the majors but his real Minor League breakout seemed to come in 2009 where in three different leagues and nine games he went 2-2 with a 2.87 ERA before he had season ending surgery.


This season, Garcia's first full one in the Majors Jaime has gone 12-6, a solid amount of wins for any starter, let alone a rookie that still has a month left in their season.  So far His incredible 2.33 ERA ranks sixth in the National League and he holds opposing batters to a .237 Batting Average against.  One cause for concern is his 58 walks, which compared to his 118 strikeouts is only a measly 2.03 K/BB which needs to improve for him to continue to dominate on the top level.


Overall, I think if Garcia continues to work hard and develop his pitches he can continue to be a a dominant pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals now and well into the future.  I also see him winning a few Cy Young awards over the course of his career, but I can guarantee you, no matter the vote, Jaime Garcia deserves the National League Rookie of the Year Award more than everything.


-A