Fantasy talk: Jaime Garcia status report

Jaime Garcia has been an important player for the Cardinals ever since he first appeared in the show in 2008. Unfortunately, he has had some health problems, and that has restricted him from pretty much having a breakout season. Garcia has been a questionable player in the fantasy baseball world, but owners are still hanging onto him, waiting for him to break out.

Garcia was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft by the Cardinals. He put up very solid numbers in the minor leagues, and got the call to the big leagues in 2008. That year he had a brief stint with St. Louis, mainly working out of the bullpen. When the season was over, Garcia underwent Tommy John surgery, and that ultimately wiped out most of his 2009 season. However, at the end of the 2009 season, he pitched a few games in the minors, and played extremely well. In 2010, Garcia had a semi breakout year. He had a 13-8 record with a 2.70 ERA in 28 starts. He was slowly emerging as the team's #3 pitcher behind Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. The following season he had a good year, but failed to post the same numbers as the previous season. He pitched to a 3.56 ERA in 32 games started. Now entering this season, Garcia was an underrated, pretty much a no-named pitcher that was a decent sleeper pick. Although his health has always been a concern, it seems like fantasy owners, for the most part, just had a hunch about Garcia and picked him. Today is August 21, and Garcia has a 4.00 ERA in 12 starts. He hasn't been healthy for most of the season, therefore making his fantasy owners upset.

I'm still waiting for Garcia to have a true breakout season. His has very nice upside, but I can tell that health is going to be an issue for him throughout his career. Overall, if you have him this year, I would just hold onto him but if he goes on the disabled list yet again sometime within the next four or five weeks, just get rid of him.