Luis Garcia Aspirations / Trepidations Thread

[readonly]

Despite losing Candelario, this appears to be a case of addition by subtraction regarding Garcia...they are doing better without him.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Despite losing Candelario, this appears to be a case of addition by subtraction regarding Garcia...they are doing better without him.

It's only a couple of games, but Vargas shores up the defense, and Alu deserves a shot. If you want to reward guys who perform and are more than just numbers on a scouts evaluation, then you have to give Alu and Baker an opportunity.

[rileyn]

Team is on a roll since Garcia's demotion.  Coincidence?

[aspenbubba]

Batting .227 and was pulled in yesterdays game after 1 AB with a K. Could not find out why.

[Mattionals]

Batting .227 and was pulled in yesterdays game after 1 AB with a K. Could not find out why.

Sounds like he has been overmatched and is pressing. Imref suggested a while back demoting Garcia to AA and promoting Lipscomb.

[aspenbubba]

Sounds like he has been overmatched and is pressing. Imref suggested a while back demoting Garcia to AA and promoting Lipscomb.

Do not disagree or could be sulking given his immaturity. Maybe too early for Lipscomb as Crews is having a difficult adjustment to AA if that is a fair comparison.

[welch]

I had forgotten about Garcia until someone bumped this.

[Smithian]

Sometimes a player just doesn't have "it" and won't even be able to find "it"

[imref]

Guess who's back?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/09/07/luis-garcia-nationals/

García got off to a hot start this season with the Nationals and found himself at the top of the lineup thanks to improved selectiveness at the plate. His chase rate was 40.8 percent in 2022, but during the first month of the season he was well below 30 percent, a benchmark Manager Dave Martinez said in the spring he wanted his young hitters to shoot for.

But García failed to maintain that over the course of the season. He struggled at the plate as a result. He dropped in the Nationals’ order while other young hitters improved. By the time he was demoted, his chase percentage was up to 30.0 percent. He hit .221 with a .259 on-base percentage in his last 30 games before being sent down.
...
This isn’t the first time that the Nationals have made a move like this — the Nationals sent down Victor Robles, then 24, in August 2021 even after he helped the team win a World Series. The team hoped that it would be a wake-up call for him and likely view the García move the same way. Martinez and Rizzo have repeated since García’s demotion that they believe he will be a part of the team’s future success. Now, he’ll have a chance to prove he should be.

Back Friday. No corresponding move announced yet. I will guess Adams or Thomas to the IL. With Millas on the roster, going back to 2 catchers is an option.

[aspenbubba]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/09/07/luis-garcia-nationals/

Back Friday. No corresponding move announced yet. I will guess Adams or Thomas to the IL. With Millas on the roster, going back to 2 catchers is an option.

My guess is Adams as Thomas announced he would be ready Friday or Saturday at the latest.

[Slateman]

https://www.federalbaseball.com/2023/9/7/23862427/washington-nationals-news-notes-nats-walk-off-on-mets-jacob-young-wins-it-mike-rizzo-luis-garcia

“It was a preparation assignment,” Rizzo told the Junkies. “We wanted him to go down there and learn a routine, and learn how to prepare for each and every game in the big leagues. He went down there and has really tightened up his time in the weight room, his time in the batting cage, his time in the video room. He’s really gotten himself in great shape, he’s lost several pounds, which was one of the things that we wanted him to work on when he got down there. He’s working with our hitting coordinators and our hitting coach down there in Triple-A, and really took a good attitude down there and looked at this as something of an opportunity in a less competitive environment to really get his game under wraps, and he’s done a great job there.”

So, basically, Garcia is lazy

[welch]

https://www.federalbaseball.com/2023/9/7/23862427/washington-nationals-news-notes-nats-walk-off-on-mets-jacob-young-wins-it-mike-rizzo-luis-garcia

So, basically, Garcia is lazy

That's what I meant when I praised Darren Baker, who never plays like he is lazy. Nats cannot just hand 2B to Garcia. 

[Slateman]

That's what I meant when I praised Darren Baker, who never plays like he is lazy. Nats cannot just hand 2B to Garcia. 

Too bad Baker doesnt have talent

[imref]

Too bad Baker doesnt have talent

Of course not. His rise to AAA is merely a favor to his dad. 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Too bad Baker doesnt have talent

contact skills, decent OBP at all levels. He's not a zero even if he isn't a deity like he's made out to be.

I do wonder how many Youngs and Bakers this team can field at once. There's a need for pop.

[imref]

contact skills, decent OBP at all levels. He's not a zero even if he isn't a deity like he's made out to be.

I do wonder how many Youngs and Bakers this team can field at once. There's a need for pop.

He rose to #25 on our top-30 prospect list, even after the influx of all the new talent in the last year.

But yeah, he's a bum, just like CJ Abrams. Sigh...

[JCA-CrystalCity]

He rose to #25 on our top-30 prospect list, even after the influx of all the new talent in the last year.

He's #13 on Longenhagen's list at FG. rated a 40+. But this is a Garcia discussion. At this point in Garcia's career, he deserves to be in a real competition for the starting spot at 2nd with Baker, Alu, and possibly Lipscomb next spring. I'm not banking on Baker being the best of that group. I might even be concerned if we ended up with Young, Baker, and Dom in the every day lineup on 4/1. That's just a power vacuum.

[Slateman]

He's #13 on Longenhagen's list at FG. rated a 40+. But this is a Garcia discussion. At this point in Garcia's career, he deserves to be in a real competition for the starting spot at 2nd with Baker, Alu, and possibly Lipscomb next spring. I'm not banking on Baker being the best of that group. I might even be concerned if we ended up with Young, Baker, and Dom in the every day lineup on 4/1. That's just a power vacuum.

Thats a hitting vaccum, pure and simple

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Thats a hitting vaccum, pure and simple

eh, even Dom has an OBP of .331. Young's .350. It's power more than anything.

[readonly]

https://www.federalbaseball.com/2023/9/7/23862427/washington-nationals-news-notes-nats-walk-off-on-mets-jacob-young-wins-it-mike-rizzo-luis-garcia

So, basically, Garcia is lazy

That should be obvious by the way he half azz throws himself on the ground when a ball wizzes by with no real effort to make the play.

[welch]

Does Garcia have a hit since he came back from Rochester?

[Natsinpwc]

That should be obvious by the way he half azz throws himself on the ground when a ball wizzes by with no real effort to make the play.

Is that lazy or just slow. 

[readonly]

It seems like a half effort, so I'm going with lazy.  I can't think of any other nats that look like they give a half effort when diving for a ball.

[imref]

5 games back: .071   .071   .071

Call up Baker.