Yuma Sun e-Edition

Cuban defector Garcia blossoms into force for Texas Rangers

And from seemingly out of nowhere comes early 2021 AL

MVP candidate Adolis Garcia.

Indeed, in its 28-year-old rookie center fielder, the Texas Rangers have a player who has torn up opposing pitching in the season’s first two months. But given his skill set, it’s fair to wonder if he’s the real thing or just another all-or-nothing slugger.

Garcia defected from Cuba in 2016 and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals the following year, landing in their Double-A and Triple-A teams for three seasons, posting good but not great numbers and not landing on anyone’s list of top prospects. But he did show power, cracking 32 home runs in 2019 with Triple-A Memphis though with 159 strikeouts and a .253 batting average. Still, he had only a cup of coffee with the big club and the Cardinals wound up designating him for assignment in December 2019 before trading him to the Rangers for cash considerations.

After seeing limited action in the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season, he blossomed into a legitimate player in 2021. As the Rangers’ starting center fielder and clean-up hitter, he’s batting .290 with 15 home runs, 40 RBIs, a .613 slugging percentage and a .940 OPS as of late May. But he’s also shown little plate discipline, whiffing 46 times in 155 at-bats while walking only nine times. And as he moves into his thirties, those tendencies will likely not age well. Thus the doubts.

Garcia and the Rangers can be seen in action Saturday, June 26, on FS1, when they continue a three-game home series against the Kansas City Royals.

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2021-06-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://yumasun.pressreader.com/article/282136409367060

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