How Reds pitcher Julian Garcia became the first MSU Denver player to reach MLB
The All-Star Game gods smiled on Cincinnati Reds reliever Julian Garcia in a big way.
With the Reds starting the season’s unofficial second half in Colorado, the extra break between Sunday’s first-half finale and Friday’s second-half opener gave Garcia, a native of Fort Collins and former Metropolitan State University of Denver pitcher, gave a long opportunity to soak up time with family and friends.
It also gave him a chance to reintroduce himself to Coors Field, a stadium he estimated he visited for around 50 games growing up.
“I grew up coming to Coors and just watching games, but I never stepped foot on the field,” Garcia said from inside the Reds clubhouse. “I think I did one walk around the warning track maybe, but never played here.”
That first step on the field came on Thursday when the Reds did a pre-series workout at 20th and Blake.
“We had a workout, and just stepping on the field and playing some catch and just looking around and saying, ‘OK, I sat there, I sat there,’” Garcia said. “But just being on the field and taking it all in, it’s been awesome.
“It’s just a crazy experience. I don’t even know how to explain it. There are no words to really explain it.”
A “crazy experience” could be a way to summarize Garcia’s journey to the big leagues as well. Drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 10th round (287th pick) in the 2016 MLB draft, Garcia is now officially the first MSU-Denver player to make an MLB appearance.
But getting to the Reds has been an odyssey in and of itself.
Garcia made it to Triple-A with the Phillies in 2021 but struggled to an 8.07 ERA in 35 2/3 innings. The next season, Garcia posted an 8.86 ERA in 21 1/3 Double-A innings before being released in July.
From there, Garcia took some time off before pitching in Puerto Rico and in independent ball with the Kansas City Monarchs. Finally, his pitching in Kansas City caught the attention of the Reds and signing a minor-league contract in late August of 2025.
“They got me as the product from Kansas City and independent ball, where I kind of changed myself,” Garcia said of the Reds. “I took a year off in 2023 and then worked on the sweeper and worked on command. It was just different aspects of being a better pitcher that I didn’t do when I was with the Phillies the last couple years there.”
When Garcia got the call to join the Reds bullpen on June 22, it was the final step of a 10-year journey for the 31-year-old right-hander.
“I’ve explained it as surreal, and that it’s like an out-of-body experience,” Garcia said of being promoted to the Reds. “I’ve told the story a couple of times, where I could hear my dad in the stands cheering me on and those kind of things that I would hear as a kid on the backfields or at Metro. I could hear that out of all the chatter and all the fans that were there. It was just such a cool moment to finally get on a big-league mound and pitch.”
Garcia said he thinks often of his time at MSU-Denver, where he set a school record with 95 strikeouts during his sophomore year on his way to earning first-team All-RMAC honors.
“There’s a lot of pride,” Garcia said of representing MSU-Denver. “Metro has helped me out a lot through my career. I spent three years there and I met an amazing amount of people. Those people will be in my life forever. I had a couple of college teammates actually come to my debut (June 23 in Cincinnati against the Milwaukee Brewers). It’s just cool to help put Metro on the map.”
Garcia finally got to take the mound at Coors Field on Saturday afternoon, entering the game in the third inning after Reds starter Rhett Lowder was bludgeoned early for 11 hits and eight runs. Garcia tied a season high by pitching 2 2/3 innings and allowing two hits and no runs while striking out two.
Consider it a full-circle moment for Garcia in a baseball-filled life.
“I’ve had a long journey. Everybody’s told me 10 years and 31 years old and all that stuff, but I think going the path that I did, it’s just made it a little bit sweeter,” Garcia said. “I truly earned it, and it just makes it so much sweeter. The moment has just been awesome.”
