This Talented Infielder Could Help Washington Nationals Become 'Surprise Team'
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The Washington Nationals are expected to show improvements on the field in 2025 after back-to-back 71-win campaigns.
They brought in some veteran players this offseason to help raise the floor of the team, addressing several needs on the roster.
The biggest upgrade was in the lineup, where Nathaniel Lowe was added to take over at first base. A solid two-way player, he will make an impact with his bat and his glove.
Josh Bell was brought back for a second tenure with the team to add experience and some pop to the middle of the lineup. For the first time in his career, he is going to be able to focus exclusively on offense as a designated hitter.
That duo will certainly help, but if the Nationals are going to make any noise in 2025, it will be determined by how much their younger players have developed.
An impressive core began to emerge in 2024 when the franchise called up some of their top prospects, and they responded with stellar performances. Left fielder James Wood led the charge in that regard, and the team is hopeful Dylan Crews will do the same in right field this year.
But, there is one player who continues to fly under the radar who needs to be included when speaking about the team’s core; second baseman Luis Garcia Jr.
He had more lows than highs entering the 2024 campaign, and he needed to prove he was worthy of an everyday role. Inconsistency had plagued him during his first four seasons in the Major Leagues.
However, last year, things finally began to click for Garcia, who had a career performance and was arguably the team’s best hitter from start to finish.
His youth and ascension are two reasons why Buster Olney of ESPN has ranked the Nationals' emerging star as the No. 8 second baseman in the league heading into the 2025 season.
“He turns 25 in May and is part of the reason Washington might be a surprise team this year. He's got some power (18 homers last season) and speed (22 steals),” Olney wrote.
Garcia recorded a .282/.318/.444 slash line, with career highs in home runs and steals. He has had single-season bests in hits (141), doubles (25) and RBI (70).
His average exit velocity of 88.5 mph and hard hit percentage of 41.8% were both career highs as well. Major improvements were also made with his batted ball numbers, as he cut down on his ground ball rate and increased his fly ball percentage which led to the power surge.
Garcia isn’t the strongest defender at the keystone, but he has been making strides with his glove.
Continuing to improve in that area will only help him move up the positional rankings as he has cemented himself as one of the best-hitting second basemen in the game.
