The Nationals shook off a rough patch over the weekend, and Luis Garcia Jr. was at the center of it.
Washington entered the weekend having dropped seven of its previous nine after Friday night’s loss, but the club answered by winning the final two games of the series. Timely hitting played a big part, along with strong starting pitching and a bullpen boost from a newcomer.
Foster Griffin handled the heavy lifting on Saturday night, continuing to make a case for both National League Rookie of the Year consideration and an All-Star spot in Philadelphia. Zack Littell steadied things on Sunday after getting hit early. Still, Garcia Jr. was the player doing the most damage at the plate.
That matters because Garcia Jr. has long been one of the more debated names on the Nationals roster. Questions about his future have followed him for a while, especially the idea that he might not provide enough power to remain at first base long-term. What he’s doing now is forcing a different conversation.
Over his last 30 games, Garcia Jr. has put together a .320/.352/.780 line with 13 home runs and 33 RBIs. The recent numbers get even louder when the sample shrinks.
In his last 15 games, he’s hitting .340/.377/.860 with eight home runs and 14 RBIs. And in his last seven, the production has gone off the rails: a .435/.500/1.304 slash line, an 1.804 OPS, six homers, nine RBIs, and an even 3:3 K:BB ratio.
He has homered in five of his last six games started, and after his second homer of the day, he reached six home runs in his last six games. According to Nationals Communications, since the beginning of the 2022 season, only four players in Major League Baseball have homered six times in a six-game span, including Garcia Jr. from June 22-28, 2026.
That kind of burst has pushed him into a different tier. For a player who was often treated as a question mark, Garcia Jr. now looks like a legitimate All-Star candidate. He’s also been carrying the offense while James Wood and CJ Abrams have slumped over the past week.
With nearly half the season still ahead, Garcia Jr. is only two home runs and 15 RBIs away from matching the career-best marks he set in 2024. If he keeps this up, he should end up with a career year across the board.
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Blake Butera has pointed to a quieter but important change behind the surge: Garca is being more selective, working counts and waiting for pitches he can do damage against. The result has been a steadier run of production, with Garca now up to 55 RBIs on the season and carrying the sort of middle-of-the-order pop that can change the feel of Washingtons lineup. [Read more 🡒]