Exciting Reliever's Development Could be Massive For D-backs

How often in recent years have the Arizona Diamondbacks had a true power left-hander in their bullpen. Other than the 38 total games of A.J. Puk (before he went down with an elbow injury), it hasn't been a frequent occurrence.

But the D-backs may have one — a young, under-control power lefty — in the form of Brandyn Garcia.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Brandyn Garcia May Be Future Contributor

Garcia was the primary return of the trade that sent first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners. Garcia's first stint in the big leagues looked ugly; he gave up five runs on eight hits and four walks in his first 3.1 innings.

But he began to show steady development as the year progressed. After he was sent back to Reno and later recalled at the end of August, Garcia began to stack scoreless outings. Over seven appearances (6.2 innings) from September 12-24, he allowed only one unearned run.

While his command has had issues, one aspect cannot be denied. Garcia has excellent stuff, including a sinker that tops out at 99 MPH with heavy arm-side movement and a hard-breaking sweeper.

Both pitches have had a tendency to hang in the zone at times, which has led to some hard opposing contact.

Garcia told Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers in an interview that his development process with the Mariners allowed him to keep his stuff intact.

"With the Mariners before this, that was their big thing, create the biggest pitches and then be able to locate them," he said.

"So in college, I didn't really know that my stuff was abnormal in a way. But then when I got to the Mariners, they opened my eyes to it and they told me to embrace it rather than change it and try to make my slider smaller or fastball smaller.

"It was more of, 'Hey, go out there and figure out a way to command it and then you're gonna be pretty good after that.'"

If Garcia does manage to find some consistency in his command, the stuff is clearly good enough to handle MLB hitters. Twice in 2025, Garcia held a potent Los Angeles Dodgers lineup scoreless. His lone run facing LA was an 11th-inning ghost runner.

The Diamondbacks have plenty of questions around their pitching staff. Bullpen and rotation alike have been undermanned. But if Garcia continues to hone in his excellent stuff, Arizona may have a legitimate left-handed weapon to complement some of the soft-tossers like Andrew Saalfrank.

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