Nationals' Luis Garcia: Draws praise for work ethic
Garcia spent the spring working on his hitting mechanics to use his lower half more and drive the ball, Byron Kerr of MASN Sports reports. "That's how we started it the first day," Nationals minor-league hitting coordinator Troy Gingrich said this week. "We went in there and compared him [to Juan Soto's swing], because he loves Juan obviously. So we threw him up there next to Juan and he could see the difference in how Juan uses his lower half compared to how [Garcia] uses his lower half. He focused hard on this."
The organization's No. 2 fantasy prospect, Garcia's outstanding hit tool and strong defensive work have carried him through the minors so far, but he'll need to become a bigger offensive threat if he's going to realize his full potential. Gingrich expects him to put it all together, though. "Because he trusts his hands so much, a lot times, his lower half will shut down and it will just be a handsy swing," Gingrich said of the 19-year-old. "We are trying to get his legs involved more, to be more connected with his hands to be able to drive the ball a little bit more. So once he's able to get his legs and hands working connected, he's going to start driving balls. He's very athletic and he's very handsy. With him, we are just trying to get him fully rotated with his backside through the baseball. Once that happens, holy cow, this kid is pretty special." A breakout campaign at the plate in the upper minors this season could put Garcia on track to break into the Nats' starting lineup in 2021.
