Reinaldo Llerena/Contributing Writer
While freshman Edwin Rios highlighted the 2013 baseball season for the Panthers, sophomore Catcher Aramis Garcia had an equally impressive season, matching or bettering Rios’ statistics offensively. Garcia hit an impressive .321 average with 11 home runs and 51 RBIs in 57 games for the Panthers.
“I am just focused on trying to help this team win,” Garcia said. “When you play for the name on the front of the jersey, the name on the back does not matter. I am trying to build off last year and do whatever I can to make this team go to a regional and continue to the NCAA tournament.”
Where Garcia really shines, however, is with his throwing ability from home to second base, clocked in just under two seconds. This means that Garcia has a quicker release than most Major League catchers. This lead to Garcia throwing out 28 potential base runners last season, tied for the second most in the NCAA. Only Alabama Catcher Brett Booth threw out more base-runners than Garcia with 37 in 2013.
According to Garcia, whenever he sees a potential base stealer on base, he embraces a “go get em’” attitude. “I just let the ball get deep and just put a good throw on it and rest will work out for themselves.”
The Panthers face an uphill battle in its first season in Conference USA. The likes of Stony Brook and Rice University await the Panthers this season, both of whom are perennial NCAA tournament participants. Besides the number of challenges ahead for the Panthers, Garcia believes that even with more competition this year, that this is going to be a good year for the Panthers.
“I think that we’ve added a couple key pieces to our pitching staff, our position players, and even our coaching staff,” Garcia said. “I believe with the addition of those pieces, this could be a really good year for us.”
As for future plans, it is no secret that Garcia’s draft stock has risen with the season he enjoyed last year. His raw power and athleticism makes him a lucrative target for MLB teams in search of depth at the Catcher position.
“We will see how everything pans out in June [MLB First-Year Player Draft], but right now I am only focused on this season,” Garcia mentioned. “That is the only thing that matters right now. I am not worried about what happens after the season. I am focused on opening day and moving on from there.”
About Post Author
