The optimist’s case for Maikel Garcia

The experience of watching Maikel Garcia at the plate last season was not particularly enjoyable for anyone, unless you were cheering against the Kansas City Royals. When I think back to last season and what I remember from Garcia, my mental picture is of his swing looking slow and then lots of groundballs into the dirt, with him making an out right in front of Bobby Witt Jr.

His offensive season started out just fine. Heading into June 1st, Garcia was sporting a respectable .720 OPS and he was firmly entrenched at the top of the lineup. Unfortunately, Garica fell into a terrible slump in June, posting a wretched .397 OPS that month, and while he had some positive moments the remainder of…