Luis

Garcia Jr.

Garcia has taken a seat in both games that the Nationals have faced left-handed starters. He’ll take a break with Amed Rosario getting the start at second. Jacob Young is also getting a rest with Alex Call starting in right.

García takes a seat with tough southpaw Jesús Luzardo toeing the rubber for Philadelphia. It’ll be veteran Amed Rosario drawing into the lineup in his place. The 24-year-old second baseman batted third in Thursday’s season opener, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and one stolen base.

Lowe has mostly hit cleanup this spring, so seeing him pushed behind Josh Bell and Luis García Jr. is a nasty surprise for everyone who has already invested in him. Most likely, though, Dave Martinez will go with the hot hand behind his seemingly stable top three of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood. We’re just happy that he no longer seems to be leaning towards hitting Paul DeJong ahead of García against right-handers.

García delivered three of the game’s seven hardest-hit balls, with his hits coming in at 106, 105 and 102 mph. García projects as a fine mixed-league MI option, but if Dave Martinez continues this trend of batting him behind Paul DeJong against righties, he should be fired on the spot. Each of the last three times García has played, he’s been positioned right behind DeJong, even though all three games were against right-handers. The rally-killing DeJong has a horrific .263 OBP the last three years.

The Nationals are handing the top two spots in their order to CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews, so Garcia is probably going to bat as low as sixth against righties, even though he projects as the team’s second or third best hitter against them (James Wood first, then García and Nathaniel Lowe). It’s a bummer for his fantasy value, particularly since the bottom third of the Nationals order figures to be especially bad. Still, lineups can change quickly, and García has enough talent to command a middle-round pick.

Garcia Jr. was scratched from Saturday’s lineup because of illness, but the 24-year-old is feeling well enough to play in the exhibition bout Wednesday against the Marlins.

Garcia Jr. has a sore throat and a fever, so the Nationals did the responsible thing and sent him home. The 24-year-old should be back in the lineup next week.

No word yet as to why Garcia Jr. was removed from the lineup. Darren Baker is starting at second in Garcia Jr’s place. There should be an update on his status soon.

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.