After a promising SAL campaign in 2015, the lefty swinging third
baseman will miss the first half of 2016 due to a suspension for banned
substances
2015 with Savannah (including playoffs): 108 G, 442 PA,
.298/.342/.444, 59 R, 25 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 60 RBI, 100 K: 23 BB (22.6 K%: 5.2
BB%), .372 BABIP, .146 ISO, 122 wRC+, 10.8 AB/XBH, 11.1% HR/FB, 42.7 GB%: 27
FB%: 27 LD%: 3.3 PU%
With
their 4th round pick in the 2014 draft, the Mets selected a
lefty-swinging third baseman named Eudor Garcia, who was, “billed as the top
hitter in the state of Texas,” per Baseball America’s 2016 Prospect Guidebook. Garcia didn’t excel at the plate in his
first taste of pro ball – he had a 98 wRC+ in the rookie APPY League – but
after staying back for some extended spring training to start the 2015 season,
he was a consistent force in the Savannah lineup from May 6th on. He has a small timing device
in his set-up, but is otherwise very quiet at the plate, with a smooth swing,
and power to all fields. Here's some video I caught of him in the cage from May. Since it has to be addressed, his suspension is a setback, but it won’t be an issue so long as he doesn’t take banned substances again. He was caught with bumetanide and furosemide in his system, which are used to clear out ones system, so we don’t know what he was actually taking, and can only hope he’s more careful with what he takes in the future.
His defense at 3B has been a
question mark since he was drafted, but BA sounded optimistic about his chances
of staying, “most scouts grade him as an adequate defensive third baseman with
fair hands and average range but choppy motions.” He was doing a lot of
pre-game drills at 3B when I saw the Sand Gnats in Rome, so it seems like
something he’s working on, and sticking at 3B would be huge for his future. He
doesn’t have a rocket arm, but it’s accurate and I didn’t see him bouncing many
throws on MiLB.tv. His actions are a little stiff, and he didn’t always have
the best footwork approaching groundballs, but he showed more than enough to
stick at the position for now. Below I take a look at some trends from his 2015
with Savannah, and then share links to GIF and video coverage of Eudor.
 |
| Eudor Garcia's 2015 spray charts vs. LHP (left) and RHP (right) |
Table 1 – Eudor Garcia’s 2015 Splits by Month
Month
|
PA
|
AB/XBH
|
BB%
|
K%
|
BABIP
|
ISO
|
wRC+
|
GB%
|
May
|
103
|
13.7
|
4.9
|
21.4
|
.378
|
.104
|
112
|
43.5
|
June
|
97
|
10.2
|
4.1
|
26.8
|
.328
|
.174
|
96
|
29.2
|
July
|
114
|
8.9
|
3.5
|
26.3
|
.338
|
.196
|
114
|
50
|
August
|
94
|
12.1
|
7.4
|
13.8
|
.408
|
.118
|
158
|
47.9
|
September
|
34
|
10
|
8.8
|
26.5
|
.476
|
.100
|
147
|
38.1
|
Table 2 – Eudor Garcia’s 2015 Splits by Pitcher Handedness
Throws
|
PA
|
AB/XBH
|
BB%
|
K%
|
BABIP
|
ISO
|
wRC+
|
GB%
|
LHP
|
133
|
17
|
9.8
|
22.6
|
.364
|
.084
|
110
|
39.1
|
RHP
|
309
|
9.4
|
3.2
|
22.7
|
.375
|
.172
|
127
|
44.1
|
Table 3 – Eudor Garcia’s 2015 Splits by Home/Away
H/A
|
PA
|
AB/XBH
|
HR/FB
|
BB%
|
K%
|
BABIP
|
ISO
|
wRC+
|
GB%
|
Away
|
245
|
9.9
|
14.9
|
4.5
|
19.6
|
.366
|
.167
|
134
|
44.3
|
Home
|
197
|
12.1
|
5.9
|
6.1
|
26.4
|
.380
|
.121
|
107
|
40.5
|
He
joined the team at their low point of 8-16, and made an immediate impact, with
7 hits over his first 2 games (check out all 7 in the GIF section at the
bottom), including 3 doubles. His strikeout rate for the season is in the
acceptably bad range, but his June, July, and September K-rates are in the
red-flag range, so that’s something to keep an eye on. His road K% is just
fine, but is in the red-flag range at Historic Grayson Stadium, which was hell
on lefties. It’s possible he tried to sell out contact for that extra bit of
power, or that the stadium just got in his head, but we’ll get a better idea of
that when he makes it to St. Lucie in the second half of 2016. He was a different
hitter against lefties and righties, so we’ll have to monitor if any platoon
splits show up as he advances through the system. He showed a good ability to
work the count when I saw him, so his low walk rate surprised me, but he did make
small gains later in the season. He's got a nice swing and makes good contact, but his K/BB numbers don't fit the general club approach yet. Fortunately, that's one area Mets coaches should be able to help him with.
Table 4 – Eudor Garcia’s 2015 Splits by Batted Ball Type
Batted Ball Type*
|
PA
|
BABIP
|
SAL BABIP
|
wOBA
|
SAL wOBA
|
Fly balls
|
81
|
.247
|
.189
|
.470
|
.341
|
Groundballs
|
141
|
.270
|
.252
|
.272
|
.243
|
Line Drives
|
81
|
.712
|
.734
|
.730
|
.788
|
Table 5 – Eudor Garcia’s 2015 Splits by Batted Ball
Direction
Batted Ball
Direction
|
PA
|
%
|
AB/XBH
|
HR/FB
|
BABIP
|
SAL BABIP*
|
wOBA
|
SAL wOBA*
|
GB%
|
Center
|
93
|
29.4
|
7.7º
|
6.3
|
.473
|
.370
|
.516º
|
.392
|
29.3
|
Opposite
|
70
|
22.2
|
11.5
|
3.6
|
.290
|
.320
|
.319
|
.334
|
19.1
|
Pull
|
153
|
48.4
|
7.6
|
28.6
|
.354
|
.302
|
.438
|
.372
|
63.4
|
*LHB only; ª7/9 fair pop ups hit the other way;
º12th best, min. 40 balls hit in the middle 1/3 of the field
º12th best, min. 40 balls hit in the middle 1/3 of the field
Garcia
sprayed extra base hits around the field at a fair rate, but most of his
homeruns came pull-side. Given the home park, it’s possible that Garcia could
see a boost in pull-side HR/FB production as he moves to fairer parks.
Including all batted balls, the best AB/XBH rate in the SAL during the 2015 season was
7.2 by Roberto Ramos (min. 200 PA), so Garcia’s rates to Center and Pull-side
are great. His AB/XBH rate to the opposite field was still top-25, which
reflects what a strong guy Hodor Eudor is. There are a few hits in the GIF section below
that don’t have the expected trajectory given the swing, but still end up
flaring into CF or LF for hits because of Garcia’s strength.
There
is plenty of risk in the profile, but few Mets prospects offer as much
potential impact on the offensive side as Eudor Garcia. His good power from the
left side would make him standout at 3B if he can polish off the edges, but a
move to 1B would leave the spotlight on his bat. He’s graded as a below average
runner, but he’s stays in great shape and is more athletic than given credit
for, so I think he could handle the switch to LF. BA gave him a 50 future value
grade, with high risk, but naturally his grade is position-dependent, and
that’s TBD for now. I like his bat, so I’d put a 55 on him if he can stick at
3B, 50 if he moves to LF, and downgrade that to a 40/45 if he has to move to
1B – that averages out to BA's grade. The general prospect outlet line is that LF needs to produce more like a 1B
than a 3B, but both LF and 3B have been within 3% of league average the past 4
seasons, while 1B has been 7-13% above league average. Third base should be
open for St. Lucie by the time Eudor is ready to return this year, but if not,
don’t be surprised if he starts rotating between the 3 positions and DH – or two
of the three positions and DH so he’s not too overwhelmed – to gain some exposure to the other positions. He'll still have enough time to 'conquer' A+ in 2016 – aka, prove ready for AA in 2017 – so this doesn't have to be a lost season just because of the suspension.
2015 Astromets Mind GIF Coverage
9/3
– Single,
Chopper
near the 5.5-hole, Chopper
to his left – goes home with the throw, While
playing in
YouTube Video’s of Eudor Garcia
At launch, #JWST giant telescope and sunshield are folded. Watch how they'll deploy in space https://t.co/W4JhqOzbh6 pic.twitter.com/m6cILGj4yQ— ESA Science (@esascience) March 20, 2016
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