Luis García Jr. has not had the start to the season he hoped for. Entering last night’s series opener against the Cubs, he was hitting only .247 with a .691 OPS. At the same time last year, those numbers were .264 and .729, respectively. And he finished his breakout 2024 campaign with a .282 average and .762 OPS.
Yes, the 25-year-old has been the victim of some bad luck. His expected batting average is now up to .299 and his “squared up” percentage is 34.4, with both good enough to be in the 91st percentile in the major leagues.
As he tries to get back to the level of production he put up last year, García is focusing on getting back to hitting the ball the opposite way and up the middle of the field.
Last year during his career-best season, García hit the ball the opposite way 27.5 percent of the time and straight up the middle 46.3 percent. Those percentages are down to 18.3 and 42.7, respectively, so far this season.
But last night’s showing was a good step in the (opposite) direction.
García finished the night 3-for-4, the only Nationals hitter to record multiple hits in an 8-3 loss. Even better, the balls he put in play in all four at-bats either went the opposite way or up the middle: Two of his singles and his lineout went to left field and his third base hit went to center.
“Really good. Happy for my performance,” García said after the game, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “But at the same time, we didn't get the win. But overall, my at-bats were good. I was playing around the field, going center and the opposite side.”
Was that the plan against Cubs right-hander Cade Horton or was that just a product of how the rookie was pitching him?
“It was my approach today,” García said. “He wasn't throwing a lot of balls in. So that's why I was able to go center and the opposite field.”
“We've talked about when he’s had success, which is to stay in the middle of the field,” said manager Davey Martinez. “He had some good swings on some balls. But with two strikes, he's really trying to stay in the middle of the field. He worked really good at-bats today.”
García’s first hit wasn’t only significant in that it drove in the Nats’ first run of the night. It was also the 500th of his major league career as he reached the milestone in his 518th game, all coming with the Nationals.
“Really happy with that,” he said. “When you're a kid, you always dream of getting to the big leagues and having 500 hits in the big leagues. I'm really proud of that.”
García is now hitting .258 with a .706 OPS, closing the gap to his numbers from last year. Over his last 16 games, he’s slashing .344/.390/.614 with a 1.004 OPS, thanks in large part to his opposite-field approach.
If he stays with that approach and on that trajectory, that gap should close even more soon.
“It's really good,” he said. “Every time I go to the opposite field, I feel good with myself. But it's obviously the hard work that I put in the cage every day.”