Nick Garcia

Garcia played third base his freshman year at Chapman before converting to pitching as a sophomore. He served as the closer on Chapman’s 2019 Division III national championship team and was named Most Outstanding Player of the D-III College World Series. Already considered a strong draft prospect based on his relief work, Garcia moved to the Panthers rotation this spring and became one of the fastest-rising draft prospects in the country before the season shut down. A strong 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Garcia has an easy operation and smooth delivery, allowing him to maintain his stuff and pound the strike zone with all three of his pitches. He throws his fastball in the 92-95 mph range, touching 97-98, and backs it up with an upper-80s slider and mid-80s cutter that both have a chance to be above-average. Garcia has a limited track record as a starter and has rarely faced good competition, but he held his own pitching in relief in the Cape Cod League last summer. He is also young for a college junior and will be barely 21 on draft day. Garcia’s stuff, delivery, youth and fresh arm have teams interested on the draft’s first day. He is in line to be the highest Division III player selected since the Nationals drafted Jordan Zimmermann in the second round in 2007 out of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.