Pitching in relative obscurity behind Wainwright and Carpenter last year, Garcia was probably the most underrated pitcher in the game. He was third in the rookie of the year balloting, but somehow managed to go othwerwise unnoticed while going 13-8 with an impressive 2.70 ERA last year. On May 7th his ERA was 1.12. He'd be the ace on many staffs. In fact, he outpitched Carpenter last year!
As a long time Cards fan I might clearify that Garcia was really brought along slowly last year. He pitched the minimum innings to get a decision in most of his games. Right now it is looking like masterful coaching. The complete game shutout is also a big surprise since he was terrible in all but his last Spring Training start. The fan base was shouting "sophamore slump" up until yesterday.
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