The Rangers will have three representatives at tonight’s All-Star Game. Joey Gallo has been there before, and the slugger’s rare combination of light-tower power and athleticism could earn him a few more nominations before the end of his career. Kyle Gibson’s dominance this season has been surprising, but he’s an eight-year veteran with a generally solid track record. Few would’ve projected him to be an All-Star entering the season, particularly coming off a down 2020, but he was the team’s Opening Day starter. It wasn’t crazy to think he’d have a bounceback year.
Adolis García making the All-Star Game would’ve been inconceivable three months ago. He wasn’t even on the Rangers roster to start the year, having been designated for assignment so they could sign Mike Foltynewicz. In February, all twenty-nine other clubs were offered the opportunity to add García for nothing more than a 40-man roster spot and the standard $50K waiver fee. Each one passed. So García reported to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee and began the year at the alternate training site.
In retrospect, each team made an error in judgment in not putting in a claim for García (as did the Rangers for designating him in the first place). It’s hard to assign too much blame around the league, though. At the time of his designation, García was soon to turn 28 years old with all of 24 major league plate appearances under his belt. An obvious combination of power and speed had made him a fairly well-regarded prospect in Cuba and in his days in the Cardinals system, but scouting reports also came with question marks about his plate approach. His 2019 season in the minors did him no favors in that regard; García popped 32 homers and swiped 14 bags, but he also reached base at just a .301 clip and posted extremely concerning strikeout and walk rates (30.1% and 4.2%, respectively).
Given his first extended big league run after being re-selected in mid-April, García has continued to actualize his physical tools at the highest level. The right-handed hitting outfielder is surprisingly tied for eighth in the majors with 22 home runs this season. He’s sporting an impressive .270/.312/.527 line across 333 plate appearances. He leads all rookie position players in FanGraphs WAR and looks to be the midseason favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award.
It’s an open question whether García can continue to succeed at this level. His MLB strikeout and walk rates this season (30.6% and 4.8%) are eerily similar to those he posted during his last Triple-A campaign. He’s frequently chasing pitches outside the strike zone, and his 17.5% swinging strike rate is ninth-highest among the 231 hitters with 200+ plate appearances.
There’s still some chance García’s aggressiveness undercuts his production moving forward. Some players have enough power and athleticism to succeed in spite of a poor approach. It’s possible García’s that kind of talent, but he’ll need more than half a season of great play to cement himself within that rare group.
Whether or not García’s performance takes a step back in the second half, there’s no taking away what he’s accomplished to this point. To earn an All-Star selection just five months after clearing waivers is an incredible achievement. Among the players whose talents will be on display tonight, García’s had arguably the most meteoric rise.
Mountcastle will win AL ROY
He is a good player fun to watch, but I think in the long run Garcia takes it home.
I’m happy for him, but I feel bad he has to wear that horrendous All-Star uniform.
How did Aroldis Chapman make the all star team?
He was picked by players and managers. He was selected right after a bad meltdown too…
I’d been waiting for Garcia to do this, knew he had the potential was surprised at his DFA with the Rangers but the move paid off. Raw power potential, launched 32 Home runs in PCL with AAA Memphis in 2019, problem was his hit tool and ability to make consistent contact. He will strike out 200 plus times and not give you 40-50 doubles as of yet, but I think he has even more untapped potential. Has plus range in the outfield, decent glovework. I’m not surprised he made the all star team, not in the slightest, I been saying since January 2020 “I hope one day I’m not saying I could have been watching an outfield of Garcia, Arozarena, Carlson, and Tyler O’Neil.”
I don’t think Garcia will be in the big leagues for long but even still Mountcastle is below league average
Why?
He’s already 28 and he’s still striking out 30% of the time. We’ve seen plenty of flash in the pan types with very similar profiles as Garcia.
By the way, for something Garcia is the third place in the lineup, he is the best bat in the team and he adds that he runs more than everyone in his team in addition to a strong arm, how is he not going to play next year? read every nonsense !, how many third in the MLB lineup, do they have Garcia’s numbers ????
Homer through and through
Never heard of him. He must be only on local tv where you are.
Mountcastle better start playing MUCH better if that prediction is to come true
A 105 OPS+, 30% K rate, no speed, useless in the field; Mountcastle is who he is, a 6/7-hole hitter who’s “meh”; in many organizations, he’d still be in AAA .I get it; every team needs heroes, the O’s stink, and they got to have somebody. But at the end of the day, you hold Mountcastle till about his Arb-2 year, then kick him down the stairs.
OR you get real aggressive, and given how a couple of good teams need help at 1B THIS year, you move him this month. He’s worth more to the Red Sox, e.g, where they can park him lower in the order, and not pay him much.
I’ve watched my share of O’s games….he still gets fooled easily at the plate and plays rather nonchalantly for a guy who’s looking to establish himself. IMHO, he’s at his zenith in value.
He might not ever be contact first, but he could still be productive for 2-7 more years at least, his range in the outfield is pretty good according to baseball reference? He has committed 3 errors but then there’s this?
Range Factor/9Inn as CF (s.1948)
2021 AL 2.73 (1st)
Range Factor/Game as CF (s.1901)
2021 AL 2.58 (2nd)
That means dude tracks down flyballs, that helps your pitching staff intangibly
He is a good player fun to watch, but I think in the long run Garcia takes it home.
So Joe Buck is talking to hitters in the batters box as Scherzer is going into his wind up? How distracting is that??!!
Hey, batter, batter. Swing!
Joe buck is almost as bad for baseball as Stephan A Smith
Doesn’t the A stand for alien ?
You are 3/4 correct for me. spot on on Stephen A., but Buck does ok in Baseball. As for Football, terrible!.
Buck is terrible regardless of the sport. He’s only where he is because of nepotism. If he wasn’t Jack Buck’s kid, no one would have ever heard of him.
To hear Buck was addicted to hair plugs is so apt of description of any human being ever. Glad he was able to overcome. Struggle’s real.
Would suck if the game mattered.
Of course having to listen to Joe Buck sucks anyway, almost as bad as having A-roid on a broadcast.
Garcia has been fun. Is he an all-star talent going forward? Probably not, but he seems to be a BJ Upton 2.0.
Special shot out to 2nd worse team in AL and 4th in all
of baseball. We salute u
I’d rather have Akil Baddoo. Less strike outs, better obp, more speed. Much younger.
I’ll give you the OBP and age, but there isn’t much difference in Ks between them. Garcia has way more power. Not even close. Baddoo’s stats are being boosting by some babip luck. Still a promising player though.
No disrespect for Garcia… he’s having a great year. Huge power.
Baddoo has almost twice as many walks in 100 less at bats. 13 steals in 16 attempts. Garcia is 28… Baddoo 22.
Badoo 28 RBI GARCIA 62
it can’t be compared, it’s disrespectful
Garcia has speed. He plays CF
LOL
For the first time in a while, actual deserving players made the all star team and in the starting lineup. there are a lot of great stories going on, aside from the obvious Mancini. Cedric Mullins, Merrifield, Hernandez from the Indians, 2nd and 3rd gen players and other good young players really coming along and having good years
Don’t forget about Adam Frazier. Nothing made me happier than seeing Frazier and Mullins on the roster. They aren’t household names, but boy did they deserve the All Star nod. It’s nice that it wasn’t a pure popularity contest, even if it *mostly* is
Andrew Vaughn will win ROY
Huge trade deadline year for Rangers. So many players could be on move. It’s time to replenish the farm system and hopefully compete in a few years in new Stadium.
If he keeps hitting, definitely a good chance. But if he starts slumping again like he did early in the year, that’d be a tough sell
Father Garcia will take home the ROY, and I’m so happy for him. He’s gotten cold recently, but he’s also become way more patient too. He works good counts atm, and I believe that there is good progress he’s made as a player despite his slump. Let’s go Rangers!
Yankees fan but also a Garcia fan. The guy has adjusted as the league adjusted to him. He’s not exactly “cold,” he’s just hitting ’em where they ain’t and taking his walks rather then knocking the snot out of the ball.
The K rate is tolerable if he can keep up what he’s been doing, especially over the last week or so. IDK about ROY, there’s some exciting talent on the verge of the bigs and some that could potentially grow into the big-league cleats they’re wearing already.
ROY’s always a crap-shoot, and this year is even more of one since no one saw prospect development last year but their own teams.
I think Adolis has it as of today. In the end I think it will be close between Andrew Vaughn, Luis Garcia, and Adolis Garcia. Clase and Kopech are the dark horse candidates with the potential to pitch lights out for extended periods.
Arozarena could enter the conversation too if he gets hot in the second half. He’s quietly put up a 1.7 WAR first half.
Arozarena has become a “slap-dick” hitter. Seems to just naturally happen to Rays players since their turf and park support that approach. Those types don’t get ROY.
I have my doubts that non-closing relievers are even in the conversation of dark-horse candidates this season. Devin Williams was an aberration in an aberration of a season.
Good for Garcia but 102 strikeouts against 16 walks is not good.
Another one the Cards gave up on…
Fox learned in the 9th tonight that you really need a tape delay if you’re going to mic up an intense closer when he’s on the mound.
I would watch a documentary about miking up Liam Hendriks, and the consequences that follow.
I prefer Baddoo long term over Garcia as Baddoo has a better approach at the plate. Mountcastle is essentially a Ryon Healy/Shea Hillenbrand replica. Vaughn has done well so far but I think he won’t provide as much value as Baddoo. Luis Garcia of the Astros probably should win the award
By the way, for something Garcia is the third place in the lineup, he is the best bat in the team and he adds that he runs more than everyone in his team in addition to a strong arm, how is he not going to play next year? read every nonsense !, how many third in the MLB lineup, do they have Garcia’s numbers ????
It’s the sabermetric morons chatter…Sheesh! It’s the new way of thinking. It doesn’t matter that you are making things happen. If the math is cockeye then something must be wrong….
Garcia best DFA pickup ever??
Another Cardinal blunder. Plate approach huh?!? He’s a free swinger. That’s what baseball is in need of ‘all the time’. This is the type of guy you just let play. Leave him alone and he will do good things on the field and fans will love him.
100 % agree with you
100 % agree with you
He has been batting over 270 all year with 62 RBI and 22 hr, no one can ask for more !!, Also if he starts looking for BB like Gallo he does not help his team