Garcia Drafted by Tampa Bay on Day Three of MLB Draft
7/19/2022 3:39:00 PM | Baseball
14th round selection
Rice righthanded pitcher Roel Garcia was selected on Tuesday by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 14th round of the MLB Draft.
Garcia, who elected to return to Rice for a sixth season in 2022, appeared in a career-high 16 games (four starts) and struck out a career-best 50 in 45.2 innings while posting a career-best 4.73 ERA and averaging a career-best 9.85 strikeouts per nine innings.
After opening the season in the bullpen, he made four consecutive starts before returning to the bullpen for the remainder of the year. He struck out a career-high nine in four innings in a starting duel with Texas Tech's Brandon Birdsell (5th round pick of the Cubs) on March 12 but was not involved in the decision.
He finished the year 1-2, picking up a win with three shutout innings of relief work at Marshall on March 26.
Garcia made his debut with the Owls in 2017 after prepping for former Rice assistant coach Chris Rupp at Deer Park High School. He appeared in nine games as a freshman and tied for the team lead with 11 starts in 2018 before missing the 2019 season with an injury. He briefly returned during the shortened 2020 season and then worked a career-high 53.2 innings in 2021, tying for the team lead with 13 starts.
Despite missing the 2019 season, Garcia was drafted by Toronto in the 27th round of the draft that year.
He is the first Owl to be selected in the draft since Trei Cruz was drafted by Detroit in 2020. The last Owl to be drafted by Tampa Bay was Addison Moss in 2020.
Garcia, who elected to return to Rice for a sixth season in 2022, appeared in a career-high 16 games (four starts) and struck out a career-best 50 in 45.2 innings while posting a career-best 4.73 ERA and averaging a career-best 9.85 strikeouts per nine innings.
After opening the season in the bullpen, he made four consecutive starts before returning to the bullpen for the remainder of the year. He struck out a career-high nine in four innings in a starting duel with Texas Tech's Brandon Birdsell (5th round pick of the Cubs) on March 12 but was not involved in the decision.
He finished the year 1-2, picking up a win with three shutout innings of relief work at Marshall on March 26.
Garcia made his debut with the Owls in 2017 after prepping for former Rice assistant coach Chris Rupp at Deer Park High School. He appeared in nine games as a freshman and tied for the team lead with 11 starts in 2018 before missing the 2019 season with an injury. He briefly returned during the shortened 2020 season and then worked a career-high 53.2 innings in 2021, tying for the team lead with 13 starts.
Despite missing the 2019 season, Garcia was drafted by Toronto in the 27th round of the draft that year.
He is the first Owl to be selected in the draft since Trei Cruz was drafted by Detroit in 2020. The last Owl to be drafted by Tampa Bay was Addison Moss in 2020.
Players Mentioned
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