Luis García Jr. Fantasy Stats

According to Jessica Camerato of MLB.com, the Nationals could explore shifting second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. to first base to begin the season. Last summer, Garcia was given a brief two-game stint at first base and could begin to take on a larger role there, given Washington's current roster. Additionally, the Nationals could turn to Matt Mervis, Andres Chaparro, or prospect Yohandy Morales to begin the campaign as the team's starting first baseman. In 2025, Garcia spent the majority of his time at the keystone and held a .252/.289/.412 slash line with 28 doubles, 16 home runs, and 14 stolen bases. Managers should monitor his usage in spring training, as he could earn more positional eligibility if he were to appear in enough games at first base. If he were to completely shift to first base, Jose Tena and Nasim Nunez would likely earn starts at second base.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (back) is starting at second base and will hit eighth in Monday's series opener against the hosting Kansas City Royals and left-hander Bailey Falter. Garcia will be back in there in KC after he missed the last three contests due to back tightness. The 25-year-old hasn't been as productive this year as he was in 2024, when he hit a career-best .282 with 18 home runs, 70 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 140 games played. In his sixth MLB campaign, he's slashing .263/.302/.399 with only nine homers, 50 RBI, 49 runs and nine stolen bases in 101 games played. In five games so far in August, Garcia has six hits in 21 plate appearances with three RBI and three runs scored. Garcia has faced Falter eight times in his career and is hitting .250.

Washington Nationals infielder Luis Garcia Jr. (back) remains out of the starting lineup ahead of Sunday's game against the San Francisco Giants. Garcia is set to miss his third game in a row after he was scratched ahead of Friday's game due to back tightness. The MRI came back negative, so for now Garcia should be considered day-to-day. The hope is that Garcia can get back into the lineup early in the week. Paul DeJong figures to continue seeing additional playing time with Garcia sidelined.

Washington Nationals infielder Luis Garcia Jr. (back) was scratched from the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the San Francisco Giants. Garcia has been pulled from the lineup due to back tightness. This doesn't sound like something that will require a trip to the injured list. For now, Garcia should be considered day-to-day until more information is revealed. Jose Tena will take over at second base and bat eighth versus Matt Gage on Friday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly ahead of first pitch.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. is out of the starting nine for the first game of their doubleheader with the visiting Detroit Tigers. Garcia Jr. will hit the bench with left-handed hurler Tyler Holton toeing the rubber for Detroit. Teammate Amed Rosario will man the keystone in his stead and operate from the three-hole. The New York native carries a solid .266/.306/.413 slash line and holds a 98th percentile .307 xBA. Furthermore, he's sporting career-highs in average exit velocity (90.6 MPH) and hard-hit rate (48.3%). However, he's just 8-for-42 (.190) against southpaws.

Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz, designated hitter Josh Bell and second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. are all out of the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the visiting Colorado Rockies with a left-hander on the mound. Riley Adams is doing the catching and hitting seventh, James Wood is the DH and is batting second, and Amed Rosario is at the keystone and in the five-hole versus rookie lefty Carson Palmquist. Andres Chaparro is manning first base and batting cleanup. Ruiz actually has reverse splits against lefties in 2025 with a .298 average (14-for-47) with one of his two home runs, but he has been sitting more frequently of late against lefty pitchers. Even though there's a lefty on the mound, Wood is an intriguing DFS play against the rookie southpaw. He's hitting .272 (25-for-92) with five of his 17 homers against lefties on the year.

Washington Nationals first baseman/designated hitter Josh Bell, catcher Keibert Ruiz and second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. are all sitting for Friday's game in D.C. against the visiting Texas Rangers. Outfielder Alex Call is serving as the designated hitter and is batting fifth, Riley Adams is doing the catching and hitting sixth, and Nasim Nunez is starting at the keystone and in the nine-hole of the batting order against Rangers left-hander Patrick Corbin. Nathaniel Lowe is starting at first base and batting cleanup for the Nats. While Ruiz is a switch-hitter, both Bell and Garcia bat from the left side and will get the day off against the left-handed pitcher. Call, Adams and Nunez have never faced Corbin before in their careers. Call has hit over .300 in 48 plate appearances versus southpaws this year, but he's still searching for his first homer.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. had a solo home run in his team's 9-0 win on Wednesday night, giving him five long balls on the season. Garcia opened the scoring with his 404-foot blast in the second inning and finished the night 1-for-4, while later adding a walk and another run scored. The 25-year-old lefty is hitting only .234 on the year but does have a handful of home runs and 20 RBI, along with seven stolen bases. He has a .291 xBA and .475 xSLG, indicating that his quality of contact has been better than his batting average and slugging percentage indicate. Garcia can be an emergency fill-in or DFS streaming play at a thin 2B position now that he's recovered from his slow start to the season, but he isn't a must-start in standard leagues at this point.

Washington Nationals infielders Luis Garcia Jr. and Jose Tena will start on the bench for Sunday's series finale against the visiting San Francisco Giants. Nasim Nunez is starting at second base and batting eighth, while Amed Rosario is playing third base and hitting in the two-hole against Giants left-hander Robbie Ray. The two left-handed-hitting infielders will get the day off with a tough left-hander on the mound. Garcia has really struggled against southpaws so far in 2025, going 2-for-23 against them with four RBI, a steal and two strikeouts in 30 plate appearances. Nunez has never faced Ray in his career, but Rosario is hitting .417 off of him with a 1.129 OPS in 12 career at-bats. Rosario certainly has limited upside because of his lack of power, but he's in a great lineup spot on Sunday and has hit a cool .305 (25-for-82) on the season with 12 RBI and 12 runs scored for the Nats.

The Washington Nationals activated second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. off the paternity list on Friday and optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. The Nationals have yet to release their starting lineup for Friday's series opener in Baltimore against the Orioles and left-hander Cade Povich, but fantasy managers should expect Garcia to be back at second base. As far as whether to start the 25-year-old left-handed hitter in DFS lineups, that will only be for the bold. Garcia is hitting just .226 (30-for-133) in his first 38 games after a breakout season in 2024. He's also really struggled against lefties, going 2-for-20 against them with no homers and three RBI in 27 plate appearances. Garcia is hitting .184 (7-for-38) with a homer, two doubles, five RBI, two steals and eight strikeouts in 11 games in the month of May.