The sudden rise of Luis Garcia Jr. as the Nats' brightest star

In 2020, with veteran INF Starlin Castro heading to the injured list, the Nationals would call up their #2 prospect, SS/2B Luis Garcia on August 14th. Garcia had a Soto-like stance at the plate and received lofty comparisons to the left-handed slugger. He would become the first player born in the 2000s to hit a home run, hitting his first career homer in Atlanta off veteran RHP Touki Toussaint. However, Garcia would only get just a small taste of the big leagues, as he was sent down a couple weeks later for veteran infielder Brock Holt.

Garcia would not make the 2021 opening-day roster, as INF Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison had earned the platooning role at 2B. He would play 37 games at AAA Rochester and hit .303 with 13 homers and 25 RBIs before being called-up once the Nationals traded Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes to the Oakland Athletics at the deadline. His impressive AAA numbers dipped upon joining the Nats, hitting just .242 with 6 homers over 70 games. Again, Garcia would be demoted and finish the season at AAA, but was selected as an MiLB All-Star.

Once again, the Nationals would begin the 2022 season with a veteran at 2B, this time in the form of Cesar Hernandez. Garcia would once again start the season at AAA but would produce monster numbers at the plate that couldn't be ignored. In 45 games, Garcia hit .308 with 8 homers, also driving in 32 runs. With SS Alcides Escobar struggling on the big-league team, he would be DFA’d and Garcia would be called up to play shortstop, the position he was signed to play. Playing shortstop at the big-league level proved to be very challenging for Garcia, as in 58 games, Garcia would make an astounding 13 errors (.938 fielding percentage). On August 13th, Garcia would head to the injured list, ending his season.

In 2023, for the first time in Garcia’s career, he made the Nationals’ Opening Day roster. Garcia would be in a transition season, as for the first time he would be solely be featured at second base. He started off hot in 2023, as he would hit just under .300 during the first half of the season. But again, Garcia would cool off as the season wore on. He finished the 2023 season with a .266 AVG to go along with 9 homers and 50 RBI. In fact, his struggles on both sides of the ball became so bad that he would be demoted to AAA, being sent down the first week of August.

So, what was next? Garcia was running out of time to prove he was the guy at second base for the Nats long-term before General Manager Mike Rizzo would have to decide whether or not to move on. Many people saw 2024 as a “prove-it” type year for Garcia, and the first change for Luis would be adding “Jr” to the last name on his jersey, now going by Luis Garcia Jr. He would again make the Opening Day roster in 2024, and with no other veterans on the team to play 2nd base, it was once again time to see if Garcia Jr. would be able to prove himself.

Needless to say, Luis Garcia Jr. broke out and saw his stock rise tremendously in 2024. Over 129 games, Garcia would hit .282 (11th in the NL), double his home run total from 2023 with18 homers, and would drive in 70 runs, leading the Nationals. More importantly, 7 of Garcia Jr’s 18 home runs came with 2 runners on base, giving him 7 three-run-homers on the campaign overall. Every stat line for him in 2024 was a career-best, and Garcia Jr. would be rewarded for his efforts. He was named Nationals Player of the Year and is up for the All-MLB team for the first time in his career. Seeing him break out was a huge feel-good story, not only for Nationals fans but for Garcia Jr. as well. Overall, he had the best prove-it year in Nationals history and is now expected to be a huge part of the future.

While you're here, go ahead and vote for Luis Garcia Jr. as the All-MLB 1st team member at 2nd base!