Luis

Garcia Jr.

The 24-year-old infielder had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $4.8 million in his first season of arbitration. Garcia had a true breakout season at the dish in 2024, slashing .282/.318/.444 with 18 homers, 70 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 528 plate appearances. Somehow, it feels like he still isn’t getting the love that he deserves from fantasy managers, as his early draft cost still sits outside the top 100 players overall.

What a year it’s been for García. He smoked an 0-2 knuckle curve from Aaron Nola that caught a little too much of the plate for a lead-off home run. He’ll end his breakout season with 18 homers, 22 stolen bases, a .282/.318/.444 slash line, and will still be 24 years old when next season begins.

Garcia Jr. hit a three-run blast in the third inning to turned a 4-1 deficit into a 4-4 tie. The 24-year-old has put together a solid season with the Nats in 2024 with 17 homers, a .278 average and 68 RBI. Those are fantasy-relevant numbers, but at his age, it’s certainly possible a breakout season could come in 2025.

Garcia Jr. was removed Tuesday with wrist discomfort, and unsurprisingly the 24-year-old will not be back in the lineup a day later. Josa Tena will start at second base in Garcia’s place.

It’s been a breakthrough season for García, but it looked even better a couple of weeks ago. He’s 7-for-40 with no RBI in his last 13 games, dropping his OPS from .796 to .769.

The 24-year-old second baseman put the exclamation point on a four-run uprising off of Tanner Gordon in the fourth inning with his 419-foot (106.4-mph EV) blast that increased the Nationals’ early lead to 5-0. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night. He’s very quietly having an outstanding offensive season for the Nationals, slashing a robust .294/.329/.464 to go along with 15 homers, 62 RBI and 19 stolen bases.

This hasn’t been a great season for the Nationals, but it’s been a breakout season long coming for García Jr. The 24-year-old broke into the big leagues when he was just 20 years old and never quite lived up to his potential, but he’s taken major steps forward this year. He now has 58 RBI to go along with 14 home runs, 19 steals, and a .293/.328/.463 slash line. He and CJ Abrams will form a solid middle infield tandem in Washington for years to come.

Garcia Jr. came up huge with a two-out, three-run blast in the ninth inning to tie the game and send it to extras. Unfortunately for the Nationals they still lost, but fantasy managers can take pride in the 24-year-old knocking his 14th homer and bringing his RBI total to 53. Garcia has been an underrated fantasy option, and it’s crazy to think he’s still just 24-years-old until next May.

Garcia Jr.'s stolen base was his 18th of the season. With 13 home runs, 53 RBI and a .290 batting average, he’s putting together quite the season for fantasy managers. These are all career-highs for the 24-year-old Garcia Jr., who has already played in parts of five major league seasons.

Garcia’s home run was his 12th. He hit a solo shot off Tobias Myers in the first inning. He’s been on fire in his last 22 games as he’s 33-for-83 (.397) with six home runs and 17 RBI. Garcia is hitting .290 with a .782 OPS and 53 RBI on the season.