Skip to main content

2022 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #20 SS/2B Luis Garcia

Talented 21-year-old infielder Luis Garcia remains worthy of being regarded as one of the Phillies' top prospects.

After the team signed Garcia 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 later that year.

The Dominican Republic native would make his official professional debut in 2018. In the short-season Rookie level Gulf Coast League, Garcia led the league in batting average with a .369 mark.  Additionally, he posted a .433 on-base percentage with an impressive .921 OPS.

The five-foot-11 175-pounder was named to the GCL’s post-season All-Star roster and was rated by Baseball America as the best prospect in the GCL at the time he played there.

In 2019 Garcia played the entire season with Class A Lakewood at the age of 18.  There, he would struggle considerably at the plate.  In 127 games he tallied a .186 batting average with 14 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 36 RBI.  

The cancelled 2020 season resulted in Garcia missing a year of development, though he did participate in the Fall Instructional League.  He also stayed busy working out in his native DR and added some upper body muscle tone during his down time. 

Additional strength was evident last year for the switch-hitter, as he displayed increased power.  Combined at Class A Clearwater and Class A Advanced Jersey Shore, Garcia more than doubled his career home run total, mashing 13 round-trippers.  In 103 total contests in 2021, he notched a .243 average with a .353 OBP, 15 stolen bases and 50 RBI.

Defensively, Garcia possesses an accurate, plus arm, solid range and quick feet. A smooth fielder, he played the majority of the time as a shortstop last year but also played 34 games at second base.  

At the plate, Garcia displays a mature approach with remarkable bat speed.  He also showed improvements with his walk rate and strike out rate last season.

Garcia is quick and could become a steady stolen base threat.  His 71% success rate with steal attempts in 2021 should be on the rise as he reaches higher levels of the sport.

Phils developmental coaches have noticed that Garcia, even at a young age, stands out as a leader, primarily among his fellow Latin players. 

The ceiling for the man known as "El Flow" seems promising as he stands out as a bright, exciting youngster that Phillies fans should keep their eyes on.  Look for Garcia to see action at the Double-A level this coming season.  

Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to exclusive content as well as material like this before anyone else.  

Also, you can keep tabs on this year's countdown by clicking this link.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...