Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (undisclosed) was a late scratch from Sunday's starting lineup. Currently, Garica should be considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury for now. As a result, 32-year-old Ildemaro Vargas will occupy the keystone this afternoon and bat in the seven-hole. Garcia went 2-for-2 with a home run yesterday, which extended his current hitting streak to five games. The 24-year-old is on pace to have the best season of his major league career with a strong .281/.313/.444 line, 11 home runs, 45 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. Fantasy managers should pay close to Garcia's status heading into the All-Star Break.
Luis Garcia Jr. Homers In 6-5 Win Over Milwaukee Brewers
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. smacked a pinch-hit home run Saturday off Jacob Junis. The Nationals went on to win the game 6-5, scoring two runs in the ninth inning to complete the victory. On the year, Garcia Jr. is hitting .281 with 11 home runs, 45 RBI, 12 stolen bases and 34 runs scored on the season. Those who drafted Garcia Jr. have reaped the benefit of a hitter getting daily at-bats with double-digit home runs and stolen bases.
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. kept his foot on the gas in Friday's loss to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, piling up four hits with a home run and a stolen base in the defeat. Following an RBI single in the first inning, Garcia gave the Nats a 5-0 lead with a solo homer off Cardinals ace Sonny Gray in the third frame. The 24-year-old infielder now has six RBI in his past two appearances, going 10-for-24 (.417) with three round-trippers and two stolen bases over his last seven outings. Providing a decent level of speed and pop as Washington's everyday second baseman, Garcia is starting to command more attention in deeper mixed and NL-only fantasy leagues.
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. went 2-for-5 with his sixth home run of the season in Friday's 11-5 rout of the Rockies. The three-run blast gave him 31 RBI on the season, and he scored once in the contest as well. The 24-year-old is having a solid season, now with a .266-6-31-21-10 line with a .305 wOBA and 96 wRC+. The 10 stolen bases are nice, but unless you need them you could probably find similar, if not better, production elsewhere on the waiver wire.
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (heel) is back in action on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies and right-hander Aaron Nola, serving as the designated hitter and batting cleanup. Ildemaro Vargas is at second base and will hit in the two-hole for the Nats. A right-heel forced Garcia out of the lineup the last two days, but he will return on Sunday. It's unclear when the 24-year-old will be feeling good enough to return to defensive duties at the keystone. Garcia has plenty of experience in his career against Nola and is batting .250 against him in 24 at-bats with three RBI and a .655 OPS. He's having a very solid season so far at the plate but has cooled off a bit in May, going 11-for-42 (.262) with two home runs, nine RBI and two stolen bases in 12 games played. It's also not the best matchup for Garcia coming off a minor injury.
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (heel) has been scratched from the starting lineup on Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies after injuring his right heel in Chicago. Garcia thinks he'll be fine to play on Saturday. Ildemaro Vargas will replace Garcia at the keystone on Friday and will hit fifth against Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler. Fantasy managers should consider Garcia day-to-day for now and check back on Saturday to see if he's put back in the lineup. Garcia is in the midst of the best season of his MLB career in 2024 and is currently hitting .283/.336/.433 with three home runs, 20 RBI and seven stolen bases in 37 games, so fantasy managers are hoping he's back on Saturday after also missing Wednesday's series finale against the Chicago White Sox. Vargas is merely a low-ceiling DFS sleeper in a tough matchup.
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base during Sunday's 6-0 win over the Houston Astros. Garcia is now slashing .317/.348/.476 with one home run, 10 RBI and five stolen bases through 19 games. The 23-year-old has struggled with consistency thus far in his career, but he has looked composed at the plate to start 2024. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues could look to Garcia as a sneaky source of steals as he should continue to serve as the everyday second baseman in Washington.
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia regressed at the plate and in the field and ended up being demoted to Triple-A Rochester for a while in 2023. Despite his poor season, he's entering spring training as the team's starting second baseman, but he could be on a short leash. There have been glimpses for the 23-year-old since he debuted in 2020, but he hasn't been able to find consistency yet. He looked better after returning to D.C. in September and hit .304/.360/.507 over his final 22 games while only making two errors in the field. The Nats didn't add another second baseman in the offseason, but Ildemaro Vargas, Jake Alu, Nasim Nunez and prospects Darren Baker and Trey Lipscomb will see time at the keystone this spring. It's hard to forecast a breakout for Garcia in 2024.
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI in the team's 10-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. Garcia was struggling so badly that he was sent to the minors in the second half of the season. Since his return on Sept. 8, he's gone 18-for-60 (.300) with three home runs, three doubles, seven RBI, a stolen base and 13 runs scored in 19 games (16 starts) for the Nats. The strong stretch has boosted his season slash line to .265/.300/.381 in 438 at-bats, and he's added nine home runs, 49 RBI, nine stolen bases and 59 runs scored. The 23-year-old is looking to finish his fourth MLB campaign off strong and should enter the 2024 season as the club's primary second baseman.
Corey Dickerson Released, Luis Garcia Sent To Triple-A
The Washington Nationals requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Corey Dickerson on Wednesday and also optioned infielder Luis Garcia to Triple-A Rochester. Dickerson entered the day hitting .252/.285/.357 with two home runs, 17 RBI and 11 runs scored in 143 at-bats as a platoon guy in left field for the Nats. The 34-year-old could get picked up as a bench bat by a contender now that he's on the open market. And with Dickerson now out of the picture in D.C., it could mean regular playing time for Stone Garrett. Garcia has been ice-cold at the plate since the All-Star break and is batting .260 (98-for-377) with six homers, 42 RBI, eight steals and 46 runs scored in 99 games. Expect Ildemaro Vargas and Michael Chavis to split playing time at the keystone moving forward.
