Washington Nationals Star Inexplicably Left Off Top Positional Rankings List

The Washington Nationals star missed out on making "The Shredder's" top ten in the positional power rankings.

Sep 29, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (2) tosses the ball out of his glove against the Philadelphia Phillies during the eighth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals are in the "burgeoning upstart" phase of their rebuild, with a promising 2025 campaign on the horizon.

The current rebuild has been expedited with a young core of players that have all been hits to this point, and they look to take another step forward in their development this year.

One of the key cogs in the machine for the Nationals has been second baseman Luis Garcia Jr., specifically in 2024.

Garcia debuted for Washington in 2020, but the playing time for the youngster came sporadically, which seems to have had an adverse effect on his offensive production.

From 2020 through 2023, Garcia batted just .265/.295/.395 across 1,245 plate appearances in 325 games with 24 home runs, 133 RBI, and a 92 OPS+.

In 2024, Garcia batted .282/.318/.444 across 528 plate appearances in 140 games with 18 home runs, 70 RBI, and a 115 OPS+. A combination of consistent playing time and another step forward in player development saw the young star take a massive leap in offensive production.

Despite the improvements, Garcia failed to make the top 10 in MLB Network's positional power rankings produced by "The Shredder." Instead, players like Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Tyler Fitzgerald manned the list, who either will not play second much in 2025 or have not played the position much to this point in their careers.

Chisholm has proven to be a widely overpopular player in MLB, who fails to produce consistently on offense while also failing to take the field enough to be included on any positional power rankings. He will also man third base for the New York Yankees when he is healthy, not second.

Fitzgerald has had a fire-cracker start to his career offensively but has been atrocious in the field. He has also only played six games at second base to this point in his career, with most of his time coming at shortstop, though that will change this year now that the San Francisco Giants have Willy Adames for shortstop.

Garcia's defense took a step forward in 2024, as well. After combining for -16 Outs Above Average at the keystone for 2020 through 2023, the youngster posted a positive five in the metric in 2024.

Luis Garcia should have easily made the list for top 10 second baseman right now, but people continue to sleep on him and this young Nationals team.