Washington Nationals Second Baseman Lands Among Games Best with Breakout Season
The Washington Nationals are no stranger to Luis Garcia Jr., who is one of the longest-tenured players on their current roster, despite only being 24.
Garcia debuted for the Nationals in 2020, playing in 40 of the 60 games that year, though only putting up a -0.1 bWAR total.
He has continuously improved his game every step of the way, offensively and defensively, and it has seen his role with Washington increase along with it.
The young second baseman provided the team with a breakout season in 2024, his best yet on both sides of the ball, and it landed him as the seventh best at the position in the last second base power rankings of 2024 from Joel Reuter for Bleacher Report.
"Luis García Jr. debuted shortly after his 20th birthday during the shortened 2020 season, and while he showed flashes of being a solid everyday player the last few years, he had yet to fully stake claim to the starting second base job," writes Reuter, "that changed in 2024 when he was one of the best offensive players in the league at his positions and a clear standout on a rebuilding Washington Nationals roster."
For the year, Garcia batted .282/.318/.444 with 18 home runs, 70 RBI, and a 115 OPS+ across 528 plate appearances in 140 games.
The second baseman played a big role in the middle of the Nationals' lineup, and it led to a career-high 2.2 bWAR.
The improvements have been more than evident on the defensive side of the ball as well, as Baseball Savant has Garcia with -6 Outs Above Average in each of 2020 and 2021, an even zero in 2022, -4 in 2023, and positive five in 2024, falling in the 89th percentile in MLB and ranking as the 10th most among all second basemen.
Successful player development has been a big part of the team's climb out of the basement in this rebuild, and while guys like James Wood, Dylan Crews, and CJ Abrams receive the majority of the spotlight, Garcia is more than deserving of recognition for his development as well.
If Washington can continue to develop their young roster, and guys like Wood, Crews, Abrams, and Garcia can take more steps forward on both sides of the ball, it will go a long way toward making the team contenders for the playoffs and maybe even the National League East Division much sooner than anticipated.
