Avisail Garcia gains 2 hits in loss to Padres
Avisail Garcia hopefully gave us all a glimpse of the future with his performance Friday, but the Chicago White Sox ended the game on the wrong side of the scoreboard, losing to the San Diego Padres, 5-0 Friday.
The loss makes the White Sox 1-2 this spring, with two straight losses, though we all know losses in the spring don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.
Feb 28, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia poses for a portrait during photo day at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Offensively, the Whtie Sox saw Garcia standout with a 2-for-3 game at the plate. Garcia had one-fourth of the White Sox hits against the Padres Friday, with the team totaling eight hits in the loss.
Having one hit each against San Diego were Adam Eaton, Leury Garcia, Dan Black, J.B. Shuck, Andy Wilkins and Juan Diaz.
But lets go back to Avisail, and just how he’s played this spring. Thus far, Garcia has five at-bats (.800 average) with one RBI and one stolen base.
Garcia also struck out once on Friday. His two hits came with a led-off single to right field against Odrisamer Despaigne in the second inning, and again a single to right field, this time off Brandon Morrow in the fourth.
In an article earlier this week in the Chicago Sun-Times by Daryl Van Schouwen, it had a quote from Garcia after the White Sox 6-4 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers:
"“I’m more confident [than last year at this time],” Garcia said."
This type of solid start from Garcia is good for the White Sox right fielder, because after only playing in 46 games last season due to his shoulder injury, all the at-bats and success for Garcia is exactly what he and the White Sox need as Opening Day is just 32 days away.
In the 38 games he played following his return in ’14, Garcia batted .239 with a .295 on-base percentage and .401 slugging percentage. Garcia’s OPS in his ’14 return was .696.
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For all of last season, Garcia batted .244 in 46 games with 29 RBIs, seven home runs and 14 walks. Garcia also had eight doubles in limited play last season.
According to the PETOCA projections in the annual edition of Baseball Prospectus, the right fielder is being projected with a .275 average with a .310 OBP and .415 SLG. His projections are also showing nine doubles, two triples and seven home runs. Garcia can easily out-play those numbers if he can stay on the field this season.
As the spring continues, Garcia’s play will be key for the White Sox, because if he can play the way many in the organization feel he is capable of, added with the firepower already on the roster, Garcia will make the White Sox lineup even more dangerous that it already is capable of being.
Next: Carlos Rodon pitches 2 scoreless innings