Yankees' top-pitching prospect Deivi Garcia looked back on the 2019 Futures Game as a positive experience.
Garcia, now 21, had a 1-2-3 first inning of action in the game which included a strikeout.
At the time, Garcia, who was promoted to Triple-A Scranton after the game, looked back on the outing in a positive light.
"Wow," Garcia said. "There's so much energy out there. I had a lot of adrenaline. That was so was exciting."
Now reflecting back a few months in the future, Garcia thinks that outing played a big role in his confidence to further develop last season as the Yankees' No. 1 pitching prospect.
"That game was really important. It was a game in which I felt very comfortable. I felt like I did, in fact, have the potential to be a good player that filled me with enthusiasm to keep moving forward," Garcia told MLB Pipeline.
In 11 games and six starts in Triple-A ball after that, the righty had his ups and downs. Garcia had a 5.40 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 40 innings. Overall, he had a 1-3 record.
Heading into 2020, Garcia will likely return to Scranton, just on the edge of the big club's roster. If Garcia does make an MLB debut, the Yankees will help it comes because they have no choice but to play him thanks to his play, rather than an injury bug like the team had in 2019.
It appears that Garcia has some sort of future in the Bronx regardless, though. Last season while discussing trades and other potential movies, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman repeatedly said he did not want to move the prospect.
"Are we going to give up Deivi García for a rental somewhere? Clearly not," Cashman said in July.