Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. and outfielder/designated hitter Joey Gallo are both out of the lineup on Wednesday at Nationals Park against the division-rival Atlanta Braves and left-hander Max Fried. Ildemaro Vargas is starting at second base and batting eighth, while Andres Chaparro serves as the DH and bats out of the three-hole against Fried. Garcia is in the midst of the best season of his career by far, as he came into Wednesday slashing .284/.322/.443 with career-highs in OPS (.766), home runs (15), RBI (63) and stolen bases (21) in a career-high 126 games played as Washington's starting second baseman. None of his 15 long balls on the year have come against southpaws, though, and he's also hitting just .167 (5-for-30) with eight strikeouts in 10 games over the last 14 days. It's a good day to get Garcia off his feet against a tough lefty.

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams and second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. are both retreating to the bench on Friday against the division-rival Atlanta Braves at Truist Park with Braves All-Star left-hander Chris Sale toeing the rubber. Nasim Nunez will man shortstop and hit ninth, while Ildemaro Vargas will start at the keystone and bat sixth against Sale. DFS managers will probably want to avoid both Nunez and Vargas as low-cost deep sleepers in this matchup. Abrams has been a first-time All-Star in 2024 actually has had versus splits; he's hitting .291 (44-for-151) against southpaws this year, although only four of his 18 home runs have come against them. Garcia, meanwhile, is hitting .262 (22-for-84) against lefties but has yet to go deep against them this year. Garcia is also having a breakout campaign, already setting career-highs in homers (15), RBI (63) and steals (20) in 112 games.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. belted his 15th home run of the season with three RBI in Wednesday night's win over the visiting Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park. Garcia hammered a three-run shot off Rockies right-hander Tanner Gordon to right-center field in Wednesday's victory over Colorado, making the score 5-0 Nationals in the third inning. The 24-year-old infielder has evolved into a difference-making pickup for fantasy managers since July 3, batting .368 (50-for-136) with eight homers, 26 RBI, and 22 runs scored in his last 37 games as Washington's everyday second baseman.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. did it all in Thursday's loss versus the San Francisco Giants. Garcia went 2-for-4 in the contest, scoring two runs with a three-run home run and stolen base. Garcia has quietly put together a solid all-around campaign in 2024 as he is now hitting .290 with 14 homers, 56 RBI and 19 stolen bases. The 24-year-old is having a true breakout season as many had written him off entering the year and managers that were wise enough to take a chance on him have been rewarded. Although he hits near the bottom of the order, he is still being productive at second base, where there aren't many options to choose from. Garcia's xwOBA stands at .345 for the season with a strong xBA of .293, suggesting his season has been no fluke and there is no need to sell-high. The second baseman will look to build off his strong effort on Friday versus Jose Soriano and the Los Angeles Angels.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (undisclosed) was a late scratch from Sunday's starting lineup. Currently, Garica should be considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury for now. As a result, 32-year-old Ildemaro Vargas will occupy the keystone this afternoon and bat in the seven-hole. Garcia went 2-for-2 with a home run yesterday, which extended his current hitting streak to five games. The 24-year-old is on pace to have the best season of his major league career with a strong .281/.313/.444 line, 11 home runs, 45 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. Fantasy managers should pay close to Garcia's status heading into the All-Star Break.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. smacked a pinch-hit home run Saturday off Jacob Junis. The Nationals went on to win the game 6-5, scoring two runs in the ninth inning to complete the victory. On the year, Garcia Jr. is hitting .281 with 11 home runs, 45 RBI, 12 stolen bases and 34 runs scored on the season. Those who drafted Garcia Jr. have reaped the benefit of a hitter getting daily at-bats with double-digit home runs and stolen bases.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. kept his foot on the gas in Friday's loss to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, piling up four hits with a home run and a stolen base in the defeat. Following an RBI single in the first inning, Garcia gave the Nats a 5-0 lead with a solo homer off Cardinals ace Sonny Gray in the third frame. The 24-year-old infielder now has six RBI in his past two appearances, going 10-for-24 (.417) with three round-trippers and two stolen bases over his last seven outings. Providing a decent level of speed and pop as Washington's everyday second baseman, Garcia is starting to command more attention in deeper mixed and NL-only fantasy leagues.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. went 2-for-5 with his sixth home run of the season in Friday's 11-5 rout of the Rockies. The three-run blast gave him 31 RBI on the season, and he scored once in the contest as well. The 24-year-old is having a solid season, now with a .266-6-31-21-10 line with a .305 wOBA and 96 wRC+. The 10 stolen bases are nice, but unless you need them you could probably find similar, if not better, production elsewhere on the waiver wire.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (heel) is back in action on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies and right-hander Aaron Nola, serving as the designated hitter and batting cleanup. Ildemaro Vargas is at second base and will hit in the two-hole for the Nats. A right-heel forced Garcia out of the lineup the last two days, but he will return on Sunday. It's unclear when the 24-year-old will be feeling good enough to return to defensive duties at the keystone. Garcia has plenty of experience in his career against Nola and is batting .250 against him in 24 at-bats with three RBI and a .655 OPS. He's having a very solid season so far at the plate but has cooled off a bit in May, going 11-for-42 (.262) with two home runs, nine RBI and two stolen bases in 12 games played. It's also not the best matchup for Garcia coming off a minor injury.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (heel) has been scratched from the starting lineup on Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies after injuring his right heel in Chicago. Garcia thinks he'll be fine to play on Saturday. Ildemaro Vargas will replace Garcia at the keystone on Friday and will hit fifth against Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler. Fantasy managers should consider Garcia day-to-day for now and check back on Saturday to see if he's put back in the lineup. Garcia is in the midst of the best season of his MLB career in 2024 and is currently hitting .283/.336/.433 with three home runs, 20 RBI and seven stolen bases in 37 games, so fantasy managers are hoping he's back on Saturday after also missing Wednesday's series finale against the Chicago White Sox. Vargas is merely a low-ceiling DFS sleeper in a tough matchup.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base during Sunday's 6-0 win over the Houston Astros. Garcia is now slashing .317/.348/.476 with one home run, 10 RBI and five stolen bases through 19 games. The 23-year-old has struggled with consistency thus far in his career, but he has looked composed at the plate to start 2024. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues could look to Garcia as a sneaky source of steals as he should continue to serve as the everyday second baseman in Washington.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia regressed at the plate and in the field and ended up being demoted to Triple-A Rochester for a while in 2023. Despite his poor season, he's entering spring training as the team's starting second baseman, but he could be on a short leash. There have been glimpses for the 23-year-old since he debuted in 2020, but he hasn't been able to find consistency yet. He looked better after returning to D.C. in September and hit .304/.360/.507 over his final 22 games while only making two errors in the field. The Nats didn't add another second baseman in the offseason, but Ildemaro Vargas, Jake Alu, Nasim Nunez and prospects Darren Baker and Trey Lipscomb will see time at the keystone this spring. It's hard to forecast a breakout for Garcia in 2024.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI in the team's 10-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. Garcia was struggling so badly that he was sent to the minors in the second half of the season. Since his return on Sept. 8, he's gone 18-for-60 (.300) with three home runs, three doubles, seven RBI, a stolen base and 13 runs scored in 19 games (16 starts) for the Nats. The strong stretch has boosted his season slash line to .265/.300/.381 in 438 at-bats, and he's added nine home runs, 49 RBI, nine stolen bases and 59 runs scored. The 23-year-old is looking to finish his fourth MLB campaign off strong and should enter the 2024 season as the club's primary second baseman.

The Washington Nationals requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Corey Dickerson on Wednesday and also optioned infielder Luis Garcia to Triple-A Rochester. Dickerson entered the day hitting .252/.285/.357 with two home runs, 17 RBI and 11 runs scored in 143 at-bats as a platoon guy in left field for the Nats. The 34-year-old could get picked up as a bench bat by a contender now that he's on the open market. And with Dickerson now out of the picture in D.C., it could mean regular playing time for Stone Garrett. Garcia has been ice-cold at the plate since the All-Star break and is batting .260 (98-for-377) with six homers, 42 RBI, eight steals and 46 runs scored in 99 games. Expect Ildemaro Vargas and Michael Chavis to split playing time at the keystone moving forward.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia went 6-for-6 with two doubles while adding two RBI and three runs scored as the Nationals knocked off Kansas City 12-10 Friday. He becomes only the second player in the Nationals history to achieve a six-hit game, matching the achievement of Anthony Rendon. Additionally, he etched his name in the team's record books as the first player to hit two doubles in a single inning. He has three homers and 20 RBI while slashing .288/.330/.394 this season.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia (hamstring) returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels and right-hander Griffin Canning. Garcia started at the keystone and is hitting sixth in the batting order. The 22-year-old infielder hadn't played since leaving last Friday's game early due to hamstring tightness. Michael Chavis moved back to the bench with Garcia returning to action against the Halos. Garcia is still searching for his first round-tripper of the year and is hitting just .208 (5-for-24) with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in his first seven games of the year.

Washington Nationals infielder Luis Garcia (hamstring) is not in the lineup on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies. The 22-year-old second baseman left Friday's contest with hamstring tightness, which forced him to miss Saturday's action as well. The team is hoping that Garcia can avoid a stint on the IL if he gets a few days off. The team should provide another update on him before the Nationals kick off their series against the Angels on Monday. Ildemaro Vargas is starting at second base and batting eighth against Ryan Feltner and the Rockies on Sunday.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia (hamstring) is out of the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies. The 22-year-old was removed from Friday's contest due to hamstring tightness. It appears Garcia is still dealing with the issue, so he'll at least miss Saturday's game. Although, it wouldn't be shocking to see Garcia land on the injured list. In the meantime, Michael Chavis will play second base and bat sixth versus left-hander Austin Gomber.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia (hamstring) left Friday's game early against the Colorado Rockies with right hamstring tightness. He appeared to wince as he crossed first base while running out a groundout in the sixth inning of the team's 10-5 win and was replaced in the bottom of the frame by Ildemaro Vargas. Manager Dave Martinez said after the game that Garcia was considered day-to-day. The 22-year-old's injury doesn't sound too serious, although he could miss a couple of games this weekend. It's been a slow start to the 2023 season for Garcia, as he's gone 5-for-24 (.208) with a double, two RBI and two runs in his first seven games. Don't be surprised if he's not in Saturday's lineup.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia (groin) is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester in Indianapolis, per beat writer Mark Zuckerman. Garcia told reporters that his groin, which has kept him out since August 13, is no longer bothering him. The 22-year-old rookie has been a solid contributor for the Nationals this season, posting a .289/.301/.417 triple-slash line to go along with four home runs, 25 RBI, and one stolen base over 228 at-bats. If all goes well in the minors, he could be back with the Nationals later this week.