Garcia trying to stay in the majors in 2017

The 2016 season didn't go as Jason Garcia intended. Better to put it behind him and never look back. Except that he wants to keep it close to him.

Sound confusing? Not when the Orioles' young right-hander explains it.

The former Rule 5 pick was recalled on July 9, replacing Mike Wright in the bullpen, and optioned back to Double-A Bowie the following day. You won't find any stats on him beyond his 24 starts with the Baysox.

"It was a little disappointing, but at the same time I took last year as a learning year, dealing with failure, especially after spending a whole year in the big leagues," said Garcia, 24, who went 6-10 with a 4.73 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 123 2/3 innings.

"Learned a lot about myself on and off the field and battled through some hard times. Last year was one of those years you kind of want to forget about, but at the same time you want to remember. I think it was one of those years that kicks you in the butt and makes you open your eyes."

Garcia opened plenty of eyes while the Orioles scouted him in the fall instructional league prior to the 2015 Rule 5 draft. They snatched him from the Red Sox organization and kept him over right-hander Logan Verrett, another Rule 5 pick, despite how he hadn't pitched above the low Single-A level.

The Orioles stashed Garcia in the bullpen, careful to use him in lower-pressure situations unless manager Buck Showalter was left with no other alternatives. It wasn't an ideal arrangement, though Garcia's stint on the disabled list provided a temporary solution.

Garcia registered a 4.25 ERA and 1.416 WHIP in 21 appearances with the Orioles as a rookie. He averaged 5.2 walks per nine innings, and his challenges to locate the plate led to the now-famous exchange with Jose Bautista. The Blue Jays slugger took exception to an inside pitch, launched a tape-measure home run and glared again at Garcia. Ryan Flaherty and Adam Jones yelled at Bautista as he rounded the bases, and Jones offered up a few more words after coming off the field.

Garcia averaged 3.9 walks per nine innings with the Baysox, who devised a plan to improve his command. Former pitching coach Alan Mills, now the Orioles bullpen coach, and special assignment pitching instructor Ramon Martinez set up drills.

"I'm feeling pretty good about this year," Garcia said earlier this week at minicamp in Sarasota. "Just the progress I think I made toward the end of the year. Seeing the difference in my fastball command, and once that started to change, just my confidence.

"We honestly just made everything more simple. We just started fastball down the middle. We worked to where we'd get seven out of 10. If I hit the glove under the mask, I can move on to the next pitches. Kind of made it fun at the same time and a challenge.

"Something simple like that I never thought about and it was like a night-day difference, my command. That was really the biggest thing. Once I started to do that, my fastball command started to get better."

The Orioles returned Garcia to a starting role last year, the 24 outings his highest total as a professional. He made 22 starts and six relief appearances with Single-A Greenville in 2012.

Maybe the adjustment led to his early struggles with Bowie. He never got on the kind of roll that forced the Orioles to create a spot for him.

"It was a little bit of everything," he said. "Being back down, I was kind of disappointed. I don't want to say that affected me throughout the season. I'd say maybe the first couple of weeks I was a little disappointed, and then just getting used to being in a starting rotation again with that workload.

"I'd say after the first month or two kind of battling through getting those innings, I felt pretty comfortable being out there."

Showalter predicted at minicamp that Garcia would make significant strides this summer. He may not run down the orange carpet on opening day, but he's got a chance to pitch in Baltimore over the summer.

"I think Jason's in a good spot in his career," Showalter said. "I expect him to kind of take off a little bit this year statistically. He's got a lot of exposure to things that if he's going to bite as a big dog, it should be this year."

Showalter's words were relayed to Garcia. They brought a smile to his face.

"I'm just trying to pick up off last year and sticking with that," he said. "I'm feeling pretty confident about this year. It's good that Buck says that."

Garcia has other priorities in his life now that he's the father of a baby girl, Araceli Rose, who's four months old. She's his world, but it leads him back to baseball.

"It's been a blessing," he said, the competitor softening as he talked about her. "It's made me really put life into perspective. Made me really just focus more on my career and what's important. It's a blessing."

It's also a great name.

"I heard it when I was extremely young," he said. "I was with my grandmother. I actually wanted my sister when she was born to be named it and for the longest time I wanted to name my daughter that.

"She's got me wrapped around her finger. I love her. She's got a lot of personality right now. I'm enjoying that before baseball starts up again."