In 2024, Luis Garcia Jr. finally showed why he was so highly touted
A year ago, Luis Garcia’s Nationals future was up in the air. His 2023 season was a massive disappointment, which was highlighted by a shock demotion to Triple-A in August. His demotion was an attempt by the organization to whip Garcia back into shape, and help improve his work ethic.
At that time, Garcia Jr. had two options. He could either feel sorry for himself, and mope, or he could put in the work to get his once promising career back on track. Last offseason, Garcia chose the latter, and transformed himself into one of the better second baseman in the National League.
During Spring Training, Garcia Jr. had to fight off a red hot Trey Lipscomb to secure the starting second base job. He rewarded the organizations faith with a breakout campaign, both offensively and defensively, finishing with 3.1 fWAR. Garcia’s offensive improvement came from improved power. He has always had an innate ability to put the bat on the ball, but in 2024, Garcia Jr. was doing more damage.
The 24 year old hit a career high 18 home runs, and posted a 111 wRC+. This power did not cut into his bat to ball skills either, as he hit a career high .282. While Garcia will never be a patient hitter, his combination of solid power and plus bat to ball skills are enough to make him an above average hitter.
Garcia Jr. made even bigger strides on the defensive side of the ball. As a hitter, it was easy to see that Garcia had plenty of ability, and a breakout was a possibility. However, before 2024, Garcia Jr. looked like a lost cause defensively. He graded out as a negative defender every year of his career before 2024.
In 2024, that changed, with Garcia Jr. posting five outs above average at second base. He also passed the eye test, making great plays on a regular basis, and avoiding the mental mistakes that had haunted him in the past. Garcia was also opportunistic on the base paths, swiping 22 bags in 2024.
After being challenged by the organization, Garcia responded in the best way possible. He put his head down, and put in the work to turn himself into an effective big leaguer. He is now a very well rounded second baseman with a bright future ahead of him. At just 24 years old, it is possible to dream on even more improvement in the coming years.
Hitting left handed pitching is an obvious area of improvement for Garcia this offseason. Manager Davey Martinez often left him out of the lineup against southpaws, and when he did play, the results were not great. He posted a .641 OPS against lefties, and only hit one home run. If he can figure out left handed pitching, Garcia has the potential to be an All-Star level second baseman. However, with the arrival of Amed Rosario, it is unclear if he will get a ton of playing time against lefties.
2024 was the year Luis Garcia Jr. proved he was a part of the Nationals long term plans. He turned his untapped potential into MLB production. After barely making the team in the spring, Luis Garcia Jr. was one of the best players on the team last year. After being called out by the organization, Garcia put in the work, and went from the doghouse to the penthouse.