Roadrunner joins the Cincinnati Reds

On June 23, Julian Garcia made personal, and Metropolitan State University of Denver, history when he stepped on the mound for the Cincinnati Reds and became the first alumnus to play in a Major League Baseball game. The milestone got even sweeter when the 31-year-old right-hander scored his first major league strike out, sending Joey Oritz of the Milwaukee Brewers back to the bench.

But the road from Cohen Athletic Complex to Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark was hardly a straight, swift one.

Garcia first made MSU Denver history in 2016 when he was drafted in the 10^th round by the Philadelphia Phillies — making him the highest-drafted Roadrunner ever.

That didn’t surprise anyone who’d followed his MSU Denver baseball career. During his sophomore season in 2016, Garcia rewrote the Roadrunner record book, setting a school record with 95 strikeouts.

Garcia always dreamed of playing major league ball. But he didn’t start out as a pitcher. It was the arm strength he showed as an outfielder that prompted high school coaches to suggest he try pitching.

“I struck a couple guys out, and that felt pretty good,” he said. His pitching career took off, but a broken wrist his senior year scared off many college recruiters. But MSU Denver coaches promised opportunities for him to be a hitting pitcher.

A missing math credit forced him to red shirt his freshman year. Painful as it was to put in all the work of practices and drills without getting to play, Garcia said that experience had benefits. “I realized I needed to grow up and become a man. And figure out how to pitch even better.”

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He must have figured something out, because once he got on the mound for the Roadrunners, he was practically unstoppable. He was, as he put it, “striking out the world.”

And the world heard about it. Major League scouts started showing up at MSU Denver games. In 2016, he signed with the Phillies organization, but as any fan, or aspiring major leaguer, knows, that doesn’t guarantee a major league career.

He bounced around, playing minor league ball for the teams like the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Williamsport Crosscutters and the Jersey Shore Blue Claws for so many years he probably knows parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as he does his Fort Collins hometown.

Then, in 2022, the Reading Fightin’ Phils — part of the Phillies organization — released him.

After six years in the minor leagues, it looked like baseball might be finished with Garcia. But he wasn’t finished with baseball.

“I spent the whole summer calling teams,” he said. But few called back. “I was mentally exhausted and I thought my dream had been taken away.”

But he didn’t give up. “I kept working, trying to figure out how to be a better pitcher,” while at the same time reaching out to teams and creating a social media presence for himself. His family and girlfriend Hayley didn’t give up on him either, he said.

Eventually, he signed on with the Kansas City Monarchs. He’d been reluctant to join an independent ball club – that is, one not affiliated with Major League Baseball. But with the Monarchs, he said, he got his confidence back and he found the champion he needed.

That champion was Coach Joe Calfapietra – ironically, a guy from Philly − who never stopped working to get Garcia up to the majors. “I owe him everything,” Garcia said.

In Denver with the Reds for a late-July series against the Rockies, Garcia pitched on the mound at Coors Field on Saturday afternoon. He also stopped by his old MSU Denver athletic complex haunts, signing jerseys and baseballs the University will showcase.

He’s loving his new baseball life — trading 18-hour bus rides for chartered flights to away games. But he knows that in the world of competitive major league baseball, a player’s status can change with the swing of a bat.

“I can’t get comfortable. I just need to continue to pitch well,” he said. “I’m taking it day to day and enjoying every single one.”