LAKELAND, Fla. — Deivi Garcia is looking more like the pitcher of old — as in two years ago — and feeling like it too.

The Yankees right-hander, who is coming off a brutal 2021, took another encouraging step toward what the club hopes is a bounce-back season by throwing three strong innings Monday in a Grapefruit League start against the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium.

After struggling with his command last season, Garcia continued to pound the strike zone and flashed another bump up in fastball velocity in his second start of the spring.

“I’m feeling the same like those years that I went through the different levels [of minor leagues],” Garcia said through an interpreter. “More confident, executing pitches, establishing the fastball, feeling like myself out there and competing. Competing is important to me. Feeling pretty good.”

Garcia’s lone blemish was a solo home run by Tigers catcher Dustin Garneau, but he otherwise gave up just a single and no walks while striking out one and throwing 24 of his 37 pitches for strikes. He was efficient enough in three innings that he finished his day by throwing 14 more pitches in the bullpen to continue his buildup toward the regular season.

While the Yankees’ rotation appears set — with Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, Jameson Taillon and Nestor Cortes Jr. — with less than two weeks until Opening Day, an improved Garcia could provide important depth-in-waiting at Triple-A — if not fight for a job out of the gate. With rosters expanding to 28 in April and not all starters being fully built up by the April 7 opener, the Yankees could opt to carry extra pitchers like Garcia or Luis Gil — who threw three scoreless innings in relief Monday — to provide length out of the bullpen.

“It certainly puts them in the mix,” manager Aaron Boone said.

The Yankees used 15 different pitchers to start a game last season — and 30 overall — including two starts from Garcia. But he struggled in both and had an even tougher time at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he posted a 6.85 ERA with 68 walks in 90 ²/₃ innings.

During the offseason, Garcia worked on his mechanics to get back to where he was entering 2020, when he was one of the Yankees’ top prospects. Pitching coach Matt Blake said at times in 2020, Garcia misfired his fastball because he was overly closed in his delivery. In 2021, he “course-corrected too far the other way,” Blake said, which resulted in a loss of power and command in his fastball.

After throwing two scoreless innings in his spring debut, Garcia delivered more of the same in his second start Monday.

Facing a Tigers lineup that looked close to their projected Opening Day lineup, Garcia had some extra juice on his fastball. The 22-year-old, who averaged 92.2 mph on his fastball with the Yankees last season, averaged 95.5 mph on his heater Monday, topping out at 96.8 mph.

“Definitely more consistent right now,” Garcia said. “Just concentrating on execution, using my fastball as a weapon and establishing it.”

Boone also liked how Garcia used his secondary pitches.

“Anytime he was behind in the count, he had the ability to get back in with an offspeed pitch, which was encouraging,” Boone said. “But the fastball’s playing again. It’s really good to see that.”

Garcia, whose refined command has given him “a lot of confidence” on the mound, said he would be willing to pitch in any role the Yankees see fit.

“Competing is everything,” Garcia said. “To me, I see it as an opportunity to pitch and an opportunity to help the team. Wherever it may be — if it’s in the beginning, if it’s at the end, wherever — I’m gonna try to do my best to compete and give my best to the team.”