Elijah
Garcia

Elijah Garcia, Buena (CA), 2025 UC Santa Barbara
Positional Profile: C/RHP Top end catch/throw defender who can defend at high level with an offensive profile that continues to get better
Body: 5-11, 173-pounds. Athletic build which has continued to add strength
Hit: RHH. Wider set up with feet even and bend in his knees with a slight hip hinge. Low back elbow set up with hands right off his rear shoulder and wiggle in the hands/bat. Quiet load with a small move back and toe tap on front foot to get to launch position. Tips the barrel before going into a quick turn with solid present bat speed. Barrel path has flattened out to be more direct with consistent hard contact while staying balanced through the swing. 70 mph bat speed with 15 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 97 max exit velocity, averaged 91.9 mph. 338' max distance. Swing path is flatter now which limits some fly ball carry, but produces harder contact consistently on a line drive plane. Top end EV shows pullside HR power while adding impact to middle of the field.
Arm: RH. C-77 mph. Lightning quick transfer at the chest with a short arm path that gets the ball out quickly and accurately to second base. Lives on the bag to 1B side with throws. Arm plays at high level.
Defense: 1.96-2.05 pop times. Top end defensive profile at premium position profiles to stay behind the dish with high level of play.
ATH: 7.84 runner in the 60. Starts low and builds into stride length with ability to maintain body control/stride speed.

Garcia rivals Sheffer as maybe the best defensive catcher in teh Ventura County/Central Coast region I cover specifically. Both are top level throwers from behind the dish, but get there in different fashions. Garcia is lightning quick in his transfer to throw and with a compact/quick arm stroke that reaches 78 MPH C velocities he lives at 1.94 on his pop times while being right on the bag. Garcia is a smooth clean receiver who handles velocity/spin/movement with ease to make his pitchers look good through his pitch presentation. Where Garcia continues to grow and was on display during the Central California Preseason All State event was th growth he is making with his bat. He attended the 2024 SoCal Preseason All State Upperclass and VTA County Uncommitted Games, but during BP at AVC Garcia posted personal best in: bat speed 72.3 MPH, hard hit rate at 75%, max EV at 96.6 MPH, and avg EV at 91.9 MPH. Already a top level defender if the bat developments that Garcia showed off at AVC perform this spring he is going to be a very good land for a college program as an uncommitted '25.

Elijah Garcia, Buena (CA), 2025
Positional Profile: C/RHP Polished impact profile defender at a premium spot who shows emerging offensive profile.
Body: 5-11, 175-pounds. Athletic present build with some strength to it and room to add.
Hit: RHH. Narrower set up with feet that are slightly open. Small bend of knees with hinge at hips. Low back elbow with hands set just above the rear shoulder at same depth. Features hand waggle in set position. Small load into rear hip in load with double toe tap on front side into launch position while tipping the barrel to load his hands. Stays taller with a balanced base while using his hips and rear shoulder predominantly in the turn portion of swing. Hands work uphill with an uphill barrel looking to leverage the baseball. 65.1 mph bat speed with 16 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 95 max exit velocity, averaged 83.7 mph. 344' max distance. Strong present top end exit velocity with some carry after contact while showing more leverage to middle of field. Doubles profile with some sneaky HR potential.
Arm: RH. C-78 mph. Clean lightning quick transfer with fast release while showing present arm strength. Online accuracy with carry to be an impact tool.
Defense: 1.97-2.05 pop times. Polished receiver who is smooth in his actions in pitch presentation while adding athleticism in his block. Impact profile defender.
ATH: 7.56 runner in the 60. 1.78 and 4.19 in the 10 and 30 yard splits. Gets online quickly with some burst and ability to maintain line showing body control. 27.70 max vertical.

Elijah Garcia, Buena (CA), 2025
Positional Profile: C/RHP Garcia showed off above-average speed for his position. Athletic and quick from behind the plate.
Body: 5-11, 170-pounds. Physical frame, broad shoulders and strong legs.
Hit: RHH. Even stance with front foot turned in. Crowds the plate. Bat rests on shoulder. Early and methodical load and stride. Fast hands. 67.5 mph bat speed with 16 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 94 max exit velocity, averaged 82.1 mph. 311' max distance.
Arm: RH. C-77 mph. Quick release, accurate on all throws, some arm side run.
Defense: 1.94-2.14 pop times. Quick to his feet into a throwing position. Good receiving.
ATH: 7.27 runner in the 60. 28.10 max vertical.