Garr set for All-Star game

Brennan Garr has been making the adjustment to a full-time pitcher in the minor leagues. If his recent success is any indication, the former University of Northern Colorado standout is making the adjustment just fine, thank you.

The 23-year-old hard-throwing right-hander will represent the Clinton LumberKings, the Texas Rangers A affiliate in Clinton, Ia., in the 2007 Midwest League All-Star Game on June 19th in Kane County, Il.

Garr was one of the LumberKings eight players selected to the team after posting an 0-3 record, but a strong 2.57 ERA and two saves in 13 outings.

Garr was drafted in the ninth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft by the Rangers. He spent last season with the Rangers single-A affiliate in Spokane, Wa., where in a short season he pitched 26 innings, posting a 2-0 record and a 4.85 ERA.

At UNC, Garr was the program's all-time saves leader for a career (12) and a season (7) and led the team in both batting average and saves as a sophomore and junior. He had a career batting average of .345 with 19 home runs and 95 RBI.

Garr was mostly a third baseman in college, pitching only 13 innings as a closer his senior season.

However, he doesn't miss swinging away at the plate, being perfectly content to earn his living out of the bullpen as a late-inning reliever or closer.

"I don't miss it as much as I thought I would," Garr said. "I am really starting to fall in love with pitching and fall in love with the art of pitching and be successful at it."

The biggest adjustment has been getting used to throwing the number of innings a professional pitcher must be able to in order to succeed. He throws about every two days now and about two innings a game, but is working on preparing and strengthening his arm for the grueling schedule he may face as a full-time starter.

"Mechanics have a lot to do with it," Garr said. "I work on mechanics all the time through video and the pitching coach up here."

That pitching coach is Danny Clark, who worked with Garr last year in Spokane. Garr said it helps having the same pitching coach for two years.

"He knows you and he knows what happens when things go bad," Garr said. "When I was hitting, when things were going bad, I pretty much knew what I was doing because I knew my mechanics and everything because I did it so long. Now pitching, when things are going bad, I am starting to learn the things I need to go back to when I was successful."