Swings and Takes: Young stars front and central

With the trade deadline passed, we now have a four-month sample for hitters from which to draw from. This allows us to dig deep into two of the best young hitters in the AL Central, one of whom has improved his approach in 2025, and one who has shown some concerning signs. Stats are as of the start of play on 8/3/2025.

 

Royal Approach

One common complaint about baseball today is that there are no .300 hitters anymore. This is only a slight exaggeration, as there are currently eight qualified hitters hitting .300 or higher. Our focus today is on a 25-year-old hitter who is slightly below that line currently, Maikel Garcia (3B, KC). Garcia is hitting .299/.355/.467 in 448 PAs, with great contact ability (13% strikeout rate), roughly...

Almost!

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