Luis García Jr. DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Washington Nationals first baseman/designated hitter Josh Bell, catcher Keibert Ruiz and second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. are all sitting for Friday's game in D.C. against the visiting Texas Rangers. Outfielder Alex Call is serving as the designated hitter and is batting fifth, Riley Adams is doing the catching and hitting sixth, and Nasim Nunez is starting at the keystone and in the nine-hole of the batting order against Rangers left-hander Patrick Corbin. Nathaniel Lowe is starting at first base and batting cleanup for the Nats. While Ruiz is a switch-hitter, both Bell and Garcia bat from the left side and will get the day off against the left-handed pitcher. Call, Adams and Nunez have never faced Corbin before in their careers. Call has hit over .300 in 48 plate appearances versus southpaws this year, but he's still searching for his first homer.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. had a solo home run in his team's 9-0 win on Wednesday night, giving him five long balls on the season. Garcia opened the scoring with his 404-foot blast in the second inning and finished the night 1-for-4, while later adding a walk and another run scored. The 25-year-old lefty is hitting only .234 on the year but does have a handful of home runs and 20 RBI, along with seven stolen bases. He has a .291 xBA and .475 xSLG, indicating that his quality of contact has been better than his batting average and slugging percentage indicate. Garcia can be an emergency fill-in or DFS streaming play at a thin 2B position now that he's recovered from his slow start to the season, but he isn't a must-start in standard leagues at this point.

Washington Nationals infielders Luis Garcia Jr. and Jose Tena will start on the bench for Sunday's series finale against the visiting San Francisco Giants. Nasim Nunez is starting at second base and batting eighth, while Amed Rosario is playing third base and hitting in the two-hole against Giants left-hander Robbie Ray. The two left-handed-hitting infielders will get the day off with a tough left-hander on the mound. Garcia has really struggled against southpaws so far in 2025, going 2-for-23 against them with four RBI, a steal and two strikeouts in 30 plate appearances. Nunez has never faced Ray in his career, but Rosario is hitting .417 off of him with a 1.129 OPS in 12 career at-bats. Rosario certainly has limited upside because of his lack of power, but he's in a great lineup spot on Sunday and has hit a cool .305 (25-for-82) on the season with 12 RBI and 12 runs scored for the Nats.

The Washington Nationals activated second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. off the paternity list on Friday and optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. The Nationals have yet to release their starting lineup for Friday's series opener in Baltimore against the Orioles and left-hander Cade Povich, but fantasy managers should expect Garcia to be back at second base. As far as whether to start the 25-year-old left-handed hitter in DFS lineups, that will only be for the bold. Garcia is hitting just .226 (30-for-133) in his first 38 games after a breakout season in 2024. He's also really struggled against lefties, going 2-for-20 against them with no homers and three RBI in 27 plate appearances. Garcia is hitting .184 (7-for-38) with a homer, two doubles, five RBI, two steals and eight strikeouts in 11 games in the month of May.

The Washington Nationals placed second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. on the paternity list on Tuesday and recalled infielder Trey Lipscomb from Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move, according to The Washington Post's Andrew Golden. Garcia is welcoming a new addition into his family this week and is expected to miss the entire series against the division-rival Atlanta Braves before rejoining the club on Friday before their series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. After a breakout in 2024, the 24-year-old has mostly disappointed in his first 38 games in 2025, going 30-for-133 (.226) with three home runs, six doubles, 13 RBI, six steals and 18 runs scored as the Nats' primary second baseman. While he's out for a few games, expect Washington to use veteran Amed Rosario as the fill-in at the keystone. Rosario makes plenty of contact and is hitting .282 (20-for-71), but he doesn't offer much else in fantasy.