
Struggling Former Brewer #2: Avisail Garcia
Avisail Garcia had a breakout season with the Brewers in 2021. He was a crucial slugger in the heart of their lineup slashing .262/.330/.490 for an OPS+ of 118 last season. He was a major contributor to the Brewers success, having a WRC+ of 115 and had an fWAR of 2.7. Garcia also led the Brewers with 29 home runs and 86 RBIs (both career highs). However, he decided to opt out of his $12MM mutual option with the Brewers in the offseason and head to free agency.
Avisail Garcia signed a 4-year, $53MM contract with the Miami Marlins in the offseason but hasn’t found the same success with the Marlins. Garcia has really struggled this season, slashing .225/.262/.317 with an OPS+ of 65, an fWAR of -0.2, and a WRC+ of 70. Garcia’s struggles boil down to his performance at the plate, especially when it comes to plate discipline and bat-to-ball numbers.
Garcia is chasing pitches out of the strike zone, generating too many swings and misses, and has a very poor walk rate. He is in the bottom 2% of the league in chase rate (42.1%), bottom 4% in whiff rate (36.3%), and is in the bottom 2% in walk rate (3.7%). Additionally, Garcia has struck out 85 times in 78 games this season and has a strikeout rate of 28.2%, which is a career high.
The Marlins paid Garcia to be a power threat in the middle of their lineup. However, this season he only has 6 home runs through 78 games and has an ISO of .092- the 12th worst in the league among qualified batters.
It has been a brutal season for Avisail Garcia as he is struggling with his plate discipline, getting on base, and being the power hitter that he was in 2021. Only a half of a season into his four-year deal with the Marlins, Garcia will look to turn it around after the All-Star break.