There have been 264 father/son duos in MLB history. Real combo meals! The most famous are Bobby and Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr., and Vladimir Guerrero and Valdimir Guerrero Jr. Prince and Cecil Fielder both hit 50 home runs on the season while Craig and Cavan Biggio both hit the cycle. Many of the younger ones couldn’t reach the heights of the OGs, but how can you blame Tony Gwynn Jr. that he is not better than Tony Gwynn? That being said, many of the younger ones have done well. Fernando Tatis is doing some things in the majors. I’m always bothered by his two slams in the same inning at Chan Ho Park. However, Fernando Tatis Jr. he is one of the best players in the MLB…when he is healthy, which I am Luis Garcia Jr. of the Washington Nationals. OG Luis Garcia played nine games in the MLB and Jr. he’s had an average professional career so far, but he’s thriving right now. Let’s dig in.
Garcia Jr. he’s 24 years old, 6-foot-2, 212 pounds, and bats from the left side. He signed with the Nationals as an international free agent back in 2016.
He spent four seasons in the minors before making his MLB debut in 2020. During that time, he stole 11 bases twice while not showing much pop. ISO was around the .100 mark. The walk rate was in the 5% range while the strikeout rate was in the 15% range. The batting average was in the .300 range while we had a high BABIP in the .350 range.
In 2020, Garcia Jr. he hit 139 plate appearances with the big club. He was inconsistent, as the slash was .276/.302/.366 with a 20.9% slugging percentage. The walk rate was only 3.6%, however, and the ISO was a paltry .090. The following season, the ISO rose to .169, resulting in six home runs in 247 plate appearances. But that appears to have been a mistake, as the ISO settled around .110 over the next two seasons.
But, but, but….the ISO is back to .169 this season. In 373 plate appearances this season, Garcia Jr. has 13 home runs and 18 stolen bases. The slash is .290/.324/.459 with a .319 BABIP. The walk rate is still only 4.8% but the strikeout rate is only 16.1%.
If you look at Statcast data, in 2020, the average exit velocity was 83.5 mph. That number has increased every season since, from 86.8 mph to 89.2 mph. The launch angle was 3.6 degrees his rookie season. That’s usually in the 5 degree range, but it’s 9.2 degrees this season. A barrel rate of 8.5% is a career high, but that number was 7.5% in 2022.
Batted ball data is illuminating. The ground ball rate is at 44.7%, first below 50%, and a career low. Garcia Jr. he used to pull the ball around 40%. This season, that number has dropped significantly to 29.8%, while he’s up 41% of the time. In the past, that number was in the 20% range.
Garcia Jr. he’s chasing a healthy amount of pitches out of the strike zone, as his strikeout rate is 35%, but his contact rate in the strike zone is 89.1% while his strikeout rate is 9.5%.
Garcia Jr. he started the season batting eighth or ninth on the list. He slowly crept up to where he hit the third a month later. All season he was all over the place, batting eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth. However, in the last three games, he has come back from three holes.
Garcia Jr. he has only a 50 percent pass rush rate, but has been intercepted just three times in 21 attempts.
I’m a little skeptical about the power and wish it went more, but I like the hitting profile. If he hits third in the lineup and provides a little pop with some steals, I can take that, especially at second base.
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