Does anyone remember Jimmy Hegert? Not many people do right now unless you’re an absolute Ranger die-hard fan. Adolis Garcia was in the 2019 deal that sent Hegert to St. Louis and brought Garcia here to Texas. And right now, it looks like an absolute home run by GM Jon Daniels. Adolis Garcia is on the map and there’s no doubt about it with his performance this season so far.
Before the season, you could argue that Gold Glove OF Joey Gallo will be the Ranger’s MVP for 2021, or even Isiah Kiner-Falefa and his own Gold Glove would be the best overall player. But Garcia has burst onto the scene with his electric bat and it hasn’t slowed down.
Right now he’s the team leader in home runs (9) and RBI (26) which is good for 11th in the MLB tied with young phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. What’s even more impressive is that most of the damage he has done offensively has been on the road. He has a .317 batting average with 7 HR and 18 RBI on the road this year. The more he plays and gets comfortable at home in Arlington, the better he’ll be.
“With Adolis, you’re starting to see the consistency,” Chris Woodward said after a monstrous 5 RBI game vs Seattle earlier this season. “He works on these things everyday, he knew that spin (on pitches) was probably his Achilles heel throughout his career and he works on it everyday. Now it’s one of his strengths.”
Garcia is steadily improving on a young team that feeds off of energy and momentum. He has had 2 hitting streaks this season so far of 5 games and more recently 9 games. Against Seattle in Arlington, he racked up 7 hits, 2 HR and 7 RBI in just 3 games, really putting his name in the Rookie of the Year conversation if it wasn’t ready. But right now, you could argue he’s the MVP of the team since he’s come into the big leagues.
He has all of the tools to be successful in this league. If he continues at this pace, he’ll end the season with 166 hits and 38 home runs, but that’s also if he doesn’t get any days rest so temper expectations. Adolis Garcia is really fun to watch for this team, but Ranger fans has to remember he’s still a rookie and a cooling down period will happen… unless he’s the next Mike Trout or Mookie Betts, then we’ll take that too. For now, enjoy the ride Ranger Nation!
