“He’s simply actually staying behind the baseball, he actually is, and whenever you’re ready to make use of your legs, a variety of good issues can occur,” Washington Nationals’ supervisor Davey Martinez stated in September in discussing Luis García, Jr.’s breakout season on the plate (and within the subject).
García, Jr. completed his fifth main league season with a .282/.318/.444 line, 25 doubles, and 18 HRs in 140 video games and 582 plate appearances in a (career-best) 3.1 fWAR marketing campaign.
“We like the place his method is at proper now,” Martinez added late this season. “So we’re not going to fuss with it an excessive amount of. He’s actually engaged. He’s actually making an attempt to have good at-bats, each at-bat.”
Martinez stated then there have been clearly nonetheless some issues to work on, together with García, Jr.’s method versus lefties (.259/.290/.352, 5 of 25 doubles, 1 of 18 HRs in a complete of 114 plate appearances vs LHPs; .288/.326/.469 vs RHP).
“We’re nonetheless engaged on issues together with his method to lefties, so far as staying in there, and hitting chosen pitches,” the Nats’ skipper stated.
“The most important factor is that in opposition to lefties he chases a variety of balls down. We’re making an attempt to get him to grasp to get the ball up and in additional in direction of him.
“He can’t cowl either side of the plate. It’s powerful to do in opposition to a left-handed pitcher. However he’s studying and he’s been actually good.”
“García Jr., 24, was one in every of simply six gamers in Main League Baseball in 2024 to hit over .280 with at the very least 40 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases,” the Nationals famous in a press launch on the infielder being named a finalist for a Silver Slugger on Monday morning:
“[García, Jr. ] additionally ranked fourth in Nationwide League with a .312 common after July 3 (min. 200 AB).
“He set profession highs in batting common (.282), on-base proportion (.318), slugging proportion (.444), OPS (.762), dwelling runs (18), RBI[s] (70), doubles (25), stolen bases (22), and hits (141).
“Amongst Nationwide League second basemen, García Jr. ranked within the high three in slugging proportion (2nd), batting common (2nd), RBI (2nd), OPS (2nd) and residential runs (third). He additionally led the Nationals and ranked second amongst NL second basemen in batting common with runners in scoring place, hitting .312.
One of many largest indicators of Garcia, Jr.’s maturity this season, Martinez stated, was the truth that when he did hit lulls, the lows weren’t as little as they have been in earlier seasons.
“He’s been centered on simply engaged on simply attending to that subsequent at-bat,” the supervisor stated.
“If one thing goes awry, he forgets about it. The massive factor with him, he doesn’t carry it over. If he’s 0 for two, he’s not carrying these two at-bats over, he’s making an attempt to deal with the at-bat at hand, and making an attempt to get to that subsequent pitch. He’s been quite a bit higher at that, and I believe that simply comes with maturity. We instructed him all alongside, ‘You may hit. We all know you may hit. However you bought perceive what you may hit, what balls you may hit.’ So if unexpectedly he’s swinging at balls down, he is aware of instantly, ‘Hey, I bought to get the ball up. I actually bought to get the ball up.’ And he focuses on hitting the ball up. After which with two strikes, he’s been manner higher. Two strikes he simply shortens up just a little bit and actually tries to place the ball in play.”
That quick reminiscence, Martinez stated, is one thing gamers want within the majors.
“Generally it takes — as you understand, it took Luis a pair years — however we knew he had it in him, and what he’s doing offensively elevates his sport defensively. It goes hand-in-hand.”
GarcÍa, Jr. (WSH), Jonathan India (CIN), and Ketel Marte (AZ) are the Silver Slugger finalists at second base within the NL this season.
The winner might be introduced on a Silver Slugger Award telecast on the MLB Community at 6:00 PM ET on Tuesday, November twelfth.
