2019 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #10 SS Luis Garcia

Youth and talent are two key things that stand out with Phillies shortstop prospect Luis Garcia.

After the team signed the Dominican Republic native for a reported $2.5 million (second highest international signing in Phils history) in July of 2017, Garcia participated in the Florida Instructional League as a 16-year-old.

He made his official professional debut last season. In the short-season Rookie level Gulf Coast League, the youngster was tops in batting average with a .369 mark and posted a .433 OBP with an impressive .921 OPS. He was also named to the GCL’s post-season All-Star roster.

The five-foot-11 170-pounder was rated by Baseball America as the best prospect in that league last year.

Defensively, Garcia is said to have an accurate, plus arm with quick feet. He fields his position smoothly. At the plate, the switch-hitter displays a mature approach with quick hands that could translate into more power as he ages.

Garcia’s left/right splits are noteworthy, as he posted strong numbers from both sides of the plate in 2018. Facing lefties, he sported a .293/.408/.439 slash line. Against righties, he collected a .372/.437/.494 slash line.

On the bases, Garcia is swift and could be a steady stolen base threat throughout the minors. He swiped 12 bags in 20 chances in the GCL, which isn’t an outstanding success rate, but as he moves up in the minors, he will have more tools at his disposal to improve on that ratio.

Many prospect reviewers think that Garcia could become a blue chipper for the Phillies and will be a prospect name for all fans to know very soon.

It’s not far-fetched to think the Phillies could challenge the 18-year-old with his assignment this year by placing him at full-season Class A Lakewood when the regular season opens in April. They have done it with similarly aged and similarly talented prospects in the past.

Track this year's complete Phillies top prospects countdown by clicking this link.

Comments

Heroes- Fight of the Century

VS. It's a big day for your boy, Jay Ballz . No work, X-Men Origins: Wolverine premieres, our Phillies face the Metropolitans for the first time this season and tailgating for BOTH doesn't sound all that absurd to me. Anyway, I surveyed some qualified phans and got several opinions on how exactly a fight might go down if the mutant hero Wolverine faced off against Phillies hero Matt Stairs. Well known blogger, Chris, of I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake , kept it real and said the following- "Wolverine has adamantium ( indestructible metal substance) claws, so that's a great advantage. Stairs' Wonder Bat is neutralized there. See, the problem becomes Wolverine's ability to recover (he has a regenerative power) faster. Stairs is merely human. Sure, he has a goatee, and goatees are great, but they're great for saving sauce, not for defeating mutants. I think Wolverine takes it in a fight to the death in about 15 minutes because Stairs simply doesn'...

Jealous Ones Envy

Joe Blanton continues to excel and prove his worth in the Phillies pitching rotation. In his latest outing on Sunday, Blanton threw 8 strong innings, striking out 6, while walking just 1 and surrendering 2 earned runs, improving his record to 7-4. This season in July, Joe is 3-0 over four starts with 22 K's, 5 walks and a 1.21 ERA. Over his last 6 starts, Joe's ERA is 1.94. As a member of the Phillies, Blanton has a 3.84 ERA after the all star break with a 5-0 record. The Phillies are 20-12 (.625 winning percentage) in games that Blanton has started, since being acquired last July. Combined this season against other National League playoff contenders St. Louis, Chicago and Los Angeles, Blanton has a combined 1.67 ERA in 4 starts with a 2-0 record. Blanton is on such a sizzling run that the Bowling Green Hot Rods, a Tampa Bay Rays farm team, will host a Joe Blanton bobble head give away tomorrow. Bowling Green will host Joe's mother, father and sister for the event, as Joe...

...Got My Learn On

The weekend is just about here, but it's not feeling great so far. My college hoops team lost, and my mail included a huge image of Mets star David Wright on the cover of The Sporting News. "All Wright"? Um, I don't really believe it is. Aside from the non-appealing cover, it's the MLB preview issue, so allow me to share some things I learned from this week's magazine. 1- Former Phillie, and regular Sporting News columnist, Todd Jones has gone insane. Jones predicts that Jamie Moyer will win the NL Cy Young Award, and that Manny Ramirez will run for governor of California after the Dodgers win the 2009 World Series. 2- Ichiro Suzuki rocks the party that rocks the body. Metropolitans reliever Francisco Rodriguez compares Jose Reyes to Ichiro, saying they do many of the same things. I must have missed Ichiro performing rehearsed celebratory hand jives after getting a hit or scoring a run in a losing effort. And I know I missed Ichiro getting caught cheating on...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog