Ralph Albert Garza Jr. (born April 6, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is a free agent. He previously played for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

. He was drafted by the Astros in the 26th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

Professional career

Houston Astros

Garza was drafted by the

in the 26th round, 769th overall, of the

out of the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

. He made his professional debut with the Low-A Tri-City ValleyCats. Garza split the 2016 season between the Single-A

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one ...

and the High-A Lancaster JetHawks, posting a 6–5 record and 3.35 ERA with 64 strikeouts. In 2017, he played for the High-A

Buies Creek Astros The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to 201 ...

, the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, and the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, accumulating a 3–3 record and 4.22 ERA in 36 appearances. He split the 2018 season between Fresno and Corpus Christi, pitching to a 7–2 record and 3.51 ERA in 66.2 innings of work. He spent 2019 in Triple-A with the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

, registering an 8–1 record and 4.04 ERA in 42 appearances. Garza did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He was added to the Astros’ 60-man player pool for the season, but did not appear for the team. He was assigned to the Triple-A Sugar Land Skeeters to begin the 2021 season, and recorded 6.2 scoreless innings across 3 games to begin the year. On May 26,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, the Astros selected Garza for the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Garza made his MLB debut on May 29, pitching in relief in the 12th inning of a game against the San Diego Padres. In the game, he notched his first major league strikeout, punching out Padres catcher

Víctor Caratini Víctor Manuel Caratini (born August 17, 1993) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. After catching Joe Musgrove� ...

, but surrendered a 3-run home run to

Wil Myers William Bradford Myers (born December 10, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padre ...

and was credited with the loss. Garza won his first game as a pitcher on July 11. He was sent to relieve

Blake Taylor Blake Michael Taylor (born August 17, 1995) is an American-British professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB), and the Great Britain national team. Taylor was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2nd r ...

in the eighth inning with the Astros down 7-2. He pitched the final five outs and allowed zero runs on three strikeouts and walks as the Astros won in the bottom of the ninth inning. On August 1, Garza was designated for assignment by the Astros.

Minnesota Twins

On August 4, 2021, Garza was claimed off of waivers by the

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

. He made three appearances for St. Paul, allowing three runs in innings. He was designated for assignment by the Twins on March 22, 2022.

Tampa Bay Rays

On March 24, 2022, Garza was claimed off waivers by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. On April 7, 2022, Garza was claimed off of waivers by the

, after he was designated for assignment by the Red Sox. In 19 games, he posted a 3.34 ERA in 35 innings. He was designated for assignment on August 20. Garza cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

on August 23. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garza, Ralph 1994 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Hidalgo County, Texas Buies Creek Astros players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Corpus Christi Hooks players Durham Bulls players Fresno Grizzlies players Houston Astros players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Oklahoma Sooners baseball players People from Edinburg, Texas Quad Cities River Bandits players Round Rock Express players St. Paul Saints players Sugar Land Skeeters players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tampa Bay Rays players Tri-City ValleyCats players