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Who is Leury Garcia?


NorthSideSox72
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Timothy Leary? PERHAPS A NEW FLAVOR OF BEN AND JERRY's, tied into Jerry/Cherry Garcia??? Leury Cherry Garcia?

 

Bring on all the Garcia's we can get...Sanchezes (Angel/Carlos), too.

 

Just to confused those fans already befuddled by what's going on down on the Southside this season.

 

 

 

 

Leury Garcia, 2B/SS

 

Age: 21

 

2012 stats: Hit .292/.337/.398 with two homers and 31 stolen bases for double-A Frisco

 

Scouting report: Speed and defense are Garcia’s calling cards. Armed with excellent range and a cannon attached to his right shoulder, Garcia is probably the best defensive middle infielder in the Rangers’ system, which is saying something. He also reined in his errors last season, committing a career-low 16 while playing four different positions in double-A.

 

His plus speed plays extremely well on the base paths, where he’s stolen 51, 30 and 31 bases in the last three seasons. But the trouble for Garcia has always been getting on. Though he had a career-best .292 average in 2012, that figures to be about as good as it gets for Garcia, and he doesn’t offer the sort of plate discipline to make up for it with a high walk rate. And as you’d expect from a defensive middle infielder, he doesn’t offer much power, despite a reputation for swinging out of his shoes.

Notable: At 21, Garcia is already a veteran of sorts, having spent five seasons working his way slowly up the Rangers’ farm system. His bat has always been the big question – Garcia posted an OPS of .529 as a 17-year-old in rookie ball, and followed with a .574 OPS in the Sally League the next year – but the little Dominican has steadily improved his offense to the point where it no longer seems to be the thing that will keep him from ever getting to the big leagues. It might, however, be the thing that keeps him from ever being an everyday player.

 

In a lot of ways, 2012 was a banner year for Garcia. His .734 OPS was easily a career high, and it was a positive sign that he was able to make the crucial leap to double-A with so much success. The Rangers also toyed with Garcia at a number of defensive positions for the first time in his career. Heading into the season, Garcia had played 318 of his 319 career appearances at shortstop. But in 2012, Garcia had 39 starts at SS, 57 at second base, four in center field and four in left field. And though he didn’t play third base at all, he’s got the arm strength to do it should he have to. Part of Garcia’s constant moving had to do with the fact that he spent the season playing alongside Jurickson Profar, who took most of the reps at shortstop, but it was also likely a clue to the Rangers’ future plans for Garcia.

 

At 5-foot-7, 153 pounds, without much power or plate discipline, he doesn’t seem like all that likely of a candidate to finish with a 15-year career as a big league regular. But his versatility in the field and speed on the bases make Garcia a perfect candidate to be a super utility man, filling in across the diamond and subbing as a pinch-runner late in games.

 

Future role: With plus defense to offer at a number of position and plenty of speed to spare, Garcia seems like a perfect candidate to be a utility man for the Rangers in 2013. The biggest questions will be how his bat holds up against big league pitching during spring training, and whether Ron Washington could learn to trust a 22-year-old who’s never played above double-A ball. You could wonder if bringing Garcia up to spend 100+ games on the bench will stunt his development, and it probably would, but the Rangers might think it’s worth it if they don’t view Garcia’s ultimate upside as an everyday player, anyway. Regardless of whether Garcia starts the year with the big league club, he should at least earn a cup of coffee at some point in 2013, and the Rangers just might have a do-it-all utility man under team control for at least the next six years.

 

ETA: 2013

 

dallasnew.com/sports

Edited by caulfield12
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The identity of the PTBN reportedly is 22-year-old Leury Garcia, whom the Rangers were grooming to be a utility player capable of handling shortstop, second base and center field. Because he’s a member of Texas’ 40-man roster, Garcia, who plays for Triple-A Round Rock, would need to clear waivers to be traded.

 

The White Sox have cleared more than $10.5 million in payroll commitments for 2013 by trading Rios, Jake Peavy, Matt Thronton and Jesse Crain and replacing them with players making the minimum. That outlook improves in 2014, when the Red Sox (Peavy) and Rangers (Rios) assume the combined $27 million for which the White Sox would have been responsible.

 

 

 

White Sox Acquire

Garcia has three top-of-the-line tools—speed, range and arm strength—though we’ll wait to go into more detail until his inclusion becomes official.

 

www.baseballamerica.com

Edited by caulfield12
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QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 11:17 AM)
Sounds like an ideal SS in the post steroid era to me. As long as he can get on base at a semi decent clip, the glove, arm and speed are valuable.

I'll go Alcides Escobar and Jose Iglesias as plausible comps.

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QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 02:13 PM)
Escobar was a year older when he made the roster out of ST, at least that's a little bit.

 

Yeah, he's definitely still a kid, and I would play him at SS over anyone else at any level of the organization if/when he grows up. But he is a long, long way from being able to mentally handle the major leagues while also keeping himself under control.

 

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Like Escobar, this guy is also a switch hitter, who also had his breakout season at age 21.

 

He's no Gregory Polanco, who was rumored at the July deadline, but he's an inexpensive utility infielder who play several positions and provide great defense for us, and a plus runner who can pinch hit and run in late game situations. He's not a sexy player, but he seems to be a very versatile player, and I expect him to be completed for a 25 man spot during Spring Training.

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