This magic carpet ride that Luis Garcia Jr. is on just keeps going. His insane June has carried over into July, with the Nats first baseman slugging as much as ever. After he hit 11 homers in June, he already has 4 in July. The 26 year old has 10 homers in his last 15 games and 15 in his last 30.
I have never seen anything like this before, especially from a player whose previous career high in homers was 18. Garcia already has 20 home runs, 15 of which have come since June 5th. In his last 15 games,
Garcia has a truly insane 1.567 OPS. You can just keep going with these numbers, but as Mark DeRosa put it, he has had a career year, and we have not even gotten to the All-Star Break.
There have been so many success stories on the offensive side of the ball. Choosing who the best story is changes by the day. Right now, you have to give that title to Garcia. He has always had an exciting combination of hitting ability and power, but has taken it to the next level this year. Garcia is doing that by swinging harder, hitting the ball harder, and not sacrificing any contact ability in the process.
To be more specific, Garcia’s bat speed is up 1.2 MPH, his average exit velocity is up 2 MPH and his whiff rate is actually down 2.7%. His bat speed is in the 67th percentile, the average exit velocity is in the 90th percentile and the whiff rate is in the 80th percentile.
Spencer Nusbaum of the Athletic wrote a great article about Garcia and the Nats offense, where he also talked about just how rare his contact and power combination is. Garcia is one of six players with a hard hit rate over 45% and a whiff rate under 20%. Usually hitters have contact skills or power, but Garcia has both.
For a long time, most people including myself thought the key to unlocking Garcia was somehow finding a way to lower his chase rates. However, that is not what is happening here. Garcia is actually chasing more than ever, but his strengths have become so strong that it does not really matter.
One other part of Spencer’s article that I really enjoyed was when he talked about Garcia’s personality. He is a goofy, fun loving guy who keeps things light in the locker room. Even from the outside, it is easy to see that Garcia is quite a bubbly guy. He is the player at the end of the Nats home run line in the dugout, at least when he is not hitting them. Garcia is often the player pouring water on guys in post game interviews or throwing sunflower seeds on them after homers.
Garcia can goof around, but he is also becoming more of a leader as well. He is the longest tenured National now, despite just turning 26. When I am in the locker room, I have noticed that other players gravitate towards him. This is especially true for other Spanish speaking players, but it is not just those guys.
It feels like the Nats new regime is letting Garcia be himself, and it is bringing out the best version of him. This version of Garcia is so much fun to watch. He is hitting homers almost every night and setting career highs in early July.
Despite all of this success, I doubt Garcia is going to start tonight. This has been happening for a couple years now, but Garcia does not play a whole lot against left handed pitching. He just does not perform as well, and the staff wants to put him in a position to succeed. It is frustrating to see a hitter this hot not play every day, but the numbers show this is the right move.
Garcia has always had big platoon splits, and this year is no different. He is hitting .300 with a .927 OPS against righties, but those numbers drop to .229 and .650 against left handers. Andres Chaparro has not proven to be the best platoon partner, but the Nats could have the perfect fit on the way in Yohandy Morales.
Luis Garcia Jr. has suddenly become one of the most electric players in baseball. Honestly, it is quite surreal to watch. Garcia has always had clear talent as a hitter, but never put it together. Now, at 26 years old, many years into his big league career, that breakout has finally come.
