A look back at the 2013 season of left-hander Onelki Garcia, who was selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2012 draft.
What went right
Garcia made his major league debut in 2013, a little over a year after he was drafted.
That followed a solid first full season in the minors, putting up a 2.90 ERA between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Albuquerque, with 67 strikeouts, 35 walks and just three home runs allowed in 62 innings. Garcia didn't allow an extra-base hit to a left-handed batter in the minors all year, holding them to 11 singles and 11 walks in 89 plate appearances, hitting .149/.281/.149 against him.
Garcia's first major league strikeout came on Sept. 14 against the Giants, getting Angel Pagan swinging.
What went wrong
Garcia in his major league debut on Sept. 11 walked the only hitter he faced, on four pitches. He was the first Dodgers pitcher since Erv Palicka on Sept. 18, 1947 to issue a four-pitch walk to his only batter faced in his major league debut. Garcia was also a tad miffed at getting removed after the walk to his first batter.
"I don't think he knew he had one hitter," manager Don Mattingly said after the game. "Maybe I should've told him."
Garcia walked four of his nine hitters faced in his three major league appearances, including a 37-pitch outing on Sept. 14 that saw him only record three outs.
The Guantanamo, Cuba native made only one appearance in the Arizona Fall League before getting shut down. The southpaw had arthroscopic surgery on Nov. 12 to clean out his left elbow and remove a bone spur.
2014 status
Garcia, now 24, has just 19 days of major league service time and three option years remaining. Recovering from elbow surgery might deal a blow to whatever chances he had of making the Dodgers opening day roster, but the left-hander will likely make a contribution to the big league club at some point next season.