On Monday, Major League Baseball announced the finalists for the Silver Slugger Award, given to the best hitters at each position in both the American and National League. While the Washington Nationals undoubtedly had struggles on the offensive side this past season, second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. finds himself as a finalist for the award for the first time in his career.
After a breakout season that saw him be awarded as the Nationals' Player of the Year by the DC Media that covers the team, the Nationals' second baseman has a chance to take home a Silver Slugger Award for the National League. Besides him, Ketel Marte from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Jonathan India from the Cincinnati Reds find themselves up for the award as well. What are the chances that Garcia Jr. can actually bring home the award?
Simply put, while I would love to be biased and say that Garcia Jr. can bring it home, the reality is that he has basically no chance. That's not a knock on Garcia Jr. at all, but simply a not to the incredible season that Ketel Marte turned in for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite missing the postseason in heartbreaking fashion, the Dbacks wouldn't have even been in position to make the playoffs if not for the heroic efforts of Marte all season long.
Marte put up an outstanding .292/.372/.560 slash line, good for a .932 OPS to go along with 36 homers and 95 RBIs. He accounted for 5.8 oWAR (Offensive Wins Above Replacement), and was easily the best player on his team this past year. He should garner some down-ballot MVP consideration as well. To give credit to Garcia Jr., who had an incredible breakout season for the Nats, his .282/.318/.444 slash line and .762 OPS was very solid, but not enough to take the award from Marte, in my opinion. Luis also added 18 homers and 70 RBIs, and accounted for 2.7 oWAR.
As for the last finalist, Jonathan India, he had a very solid bounce back campaign as well for the Reds, with a .248/.357/.392 slash line with a .750 OPS to go along with 15 homers and 58 RBIs. He accounted for 2.7 oWAR as well, serving as one of the more consistent bats in the lineup for the Reds. To me, there is a clear order that the finalists should finish in, with Marte winning the award and Garcia Jr. as the runner-up, with India as the clear third place choice.
Luis said watch celly ‘cause it’s my time’
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) November 4, 2024
🩶🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/cNYRxB59VW
Do you think Luis Garcia Jr. should win the Silver Slugger Award? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
All stats in this article were provided by Baseball Reference.