DENVER — Andrew Suarez has known Dereck Rodriguez since the two were in Little League in the Miami area. But Suarez didn’t realize Rodriguez would be in big league camp in Scottsdale. Seeing his old teammate in February wasn’t the only surprise.

“I didn’t even know he was pitching now,” Suarez said, smiling.

The two have become catch partners before batting practice, and last week they added a third Miami product to the clubhouse. Aramis Garcia played with Rodriguez when they were 13 years old. He caught Suarez in summer ball when they were high schoolers, long before they paired up Friday night for Garcia's first big league start.

Suarez, Garcia and Rodriguez were all in the same high school class. Suarez went to Christopher Columbus High, about a 45 minute drive south of Pembroke Pines, where Garcia starred. Rodriguez, like Garcia, is from the northern part of the Miami area, and his high school, Monsignor Edward Pace High, was about 20 miles from Garcia's. The connections started long before the three approached draft eligibility, though.

For a couple of days, manager Bruce Bochy considered having Garcia make his big league debut last Wednesday night, catching Rodriguez. That would have been a reunion.

“Oh yeah, I played with him,” Rodriguez said. “The PPO Tigers. We played together for a year and a half.”

Not surprisingly, Rodriguez started out as a catcher. He shared duties with Garcia while also playing the outfield. Rodriguez remembers one thing about Garcia, now listed at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds: He was always one of the biggest kids. Garcia remembers Rodriguez standing out for a different reason.

“His throws to second base were unbelievable,” Garcia said. “For being 13 years old, it was amazing. Everything was knee-high and stayed that way all the way to second base.”

Perhaps Rodriguez’s success on the mound is no surprise, then. The two likely will be paired together at some point this month, and Garcia also could occasionally catch Suarez, who was his teammate in San Jose early in their professional careers.

“We’ve always been in touch,” Suarez said. “He texted me when I got drafted by the Giants.”

Rodriguez and Suarez appear here to stay, and if Garcia can eventually stick as the backup catcher, the Miami trio will make the rounds together, occasionally seeing former teammates and prep opponents who have also made it to the big leagues. One, Austin Slater, is a current teammate. Slater, a Jacksonville native, played with Suarez on an Aflec All-American team, along with Javier Baez, Francisco Lindor and the late Jose Fernandez, all former Florida prep stars.

Suarez and Rodriguez also played in the same leagues with Manny Machado growing up, and when the Giants were at Dodger Stadium last month, the two Giants rookies met with the new Dodgers star before batting practice.

“If you play baseball in Miami, everyone knows everyone,” Suarez said. “We’ve all played against each other. It’s pretty cool.”