If you follow me on Twitter ( I’m never calling it X) you know Royals Third Baseman Maikel Garcia is very near and dear to my heart. I’ve always been intrigued by his potential since his debut in 2022. The glove work was special from day one. He showed Gold Glove caliber He only played nine games, but hit .318/.348/.364. He followed that up by playing 123 games in 2023 and hit .272/.323/.358 and snagged 23 bags.
Kansas City Royals Third Baseman Maikel Garcia rounds the bases after crushing a three-run homer during a game at Coors Field in 2024. Credit: Isaiah J. Downing|USA TODAY Sports
2024 on the other hand was one to forget. His offensive numbers took a nosedive slashing .231/.281/.332 with 27 doubles and 32 steals but just a 69 wRC+, which is well below league average. He got off to a good start offensively with five home runs and 33 RBIs by the end of May. But he cooled off completely in the summer months while being the everyday leadoff hitter.
Last year, the Royals gave Maikel Garcia 431 of his 575 at-bats (75%) hitting first in the batting order
His contact batting average was much worse in 2024 (.281) than it was in 2023 (.361). To his credit, he turned up his play in the postseason hitting .318 and being a catalyst on the basepaths.
I’m not ready to say Garcia was a flash in a pan. I’m expecting him to bounce back like Big Sean in 2017. He is still talented enough to be a cornerstone for the Royals and a staple in their lineup for years to come for three reasons:
1. High hard contact rate
2. Low whiff rate and chase rate
3. Performs better under pressure
Ending 2024 with 58 RBIs for your third basemen isn’t the end of the world. It’s clear that Maikel excels with runners on base. His average of .259 with runners in scoring position is 28 points higher than overall average.
Maikel is one of, if not the best, baserunner we have, so we want him in the lineup. We want him impacting the game somehow.
-Royals General Manager J.J. Picollo
His hard hit rate is among the best in the major leagues. Per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, his 36.5 percent squared-up rate last year was in the 98th percentile on Statcast–while his 90.4 mph average exit velocity is in the 70th percentile.
Listen to how Shawn Childs from SI Fantasy waxed poetic about Garcia and his ability to make hard contact:
He checks the positive boxes in exit velocity (90.4 mph) and hard-hit rate (42.6) compared to some of the other light-hitting second basemen options ranked ahead of him, and Garcia offered more value in both areas in 2023 (EV – 91.8 and HHR – 50.6). His lack of power is tied to a groundball swing path (49.3%), but he did improve his fly-ball rate (30.7) and HR/FB rate (4.8) in 2024.
-SI.com Writer Shawn Childs
Even if Garcia is not going to be a power bat, he can still be a net positive in your lineup. He doesn’t chase (21.2 percent in 2024) or whiff (15.7 percent), or walk much (6.7 percent). For someone who isn’t going to walk, your slug has to be and power numbers need to raise your floor. Garcia isn’t selling out for power but he’s more focused on making better contact.
“It’s more about controlling my body,” Garcia said. “Don’t go too far forward to get the ball. Wait for the ball. That’s the adjustment I tried to make.”
Anne Rogers has been at Surprise following the Royals very closely and has noticed the changes in Maikel’s stance:
Garcia has added a small toe tap this spring, which he’s done before and thinks will help him with timing after seeing how many balls he fouled back or to the right last year. But his main priority is to center his weight in his stance rather than falling forward, or what hitting coach Alec Zumwalt likes to call “crashing.” It ends up, among other things, hindering hitters’ swing decisions.
-Anne Rogers: Royals Beat Writer
Crashing, for us, is when the foot gets down and everything is coming behind it with no ability to stop,” Zumwalt said. “So you’re basically in ‘go’ mode, and it’s really hard to adjust. If you guess right, it looks good. You guess wrong, you miss. With Maikel, what gives him so much hitting ability is he’s got such a flat swing through the zone, so he can be a little late and shoot the ball the other way.
-Alec Zumwalt: Director-Hitting Performance/Player Development
Despite Maikel Garcia’s struggles, the Royals continue to show faith and patience in him by putting him in the lineup as much as they can. He’s been a regular during Spring Training and has gotten off to a hot start so far. Spring Training stats mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. I’ve seen players have a great Spring Training and play terrible once the season starts. I’ve also seen players have a horrible Spring Training and have good success during the regular season. That being said, you would rather see your favorite players have success early in the Spring than not.
If Garcia can have a season like he did in 2023 when he hit .271, he could turn into an All-Star level player. I’ve always felt like that. His defense is Gold Glove worthy in the infield, but he will need to pick up Center Field quickly. With India on the team, he should mix in more at 3rd base and Maikel could see playing time when Kyle Isbel needs a breather. He’s looked okay in center field, but an athlete like him will learn well on the fly. He won’t have a choice but to learn as the season goes on because the Royals need him.
“Maikel is one of, if not the best, baserunner we have, so we want him in the lineup. We want him impacting the game somehow.”
Bank On It! 
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