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Royals getting second breakout season from Gold Glove third baseman originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Kansas City Royals might not be off to a great start this season with a mediocre at-best 7-10 record. But there are still some reasons for optimism.
Bobby Witt Jr.'s start hasn't been great with a .682 OPS, but there's a different infielder who is having another breakout season. That infielder is Maikel Garcia.
As Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report pointed out, Garcia is having the kind of start to the year that's reminiscent of a second breakout. He had 5.8 bWAR last year and could be in store for an even better season in 2026.
Royals getting second breakout from Maikel Garcia
"Now, he seems ready for a proper breakout in 2026," Rymer writes. "His OPS+ is up from 122 to 135, with outstanding metrics across the board. And all this while still playing elite defense at the hot corner."
Garcia broke out last season after a few solid years in 2023 and 2024 for the Royals. But this season, he's looking better than ever.
He's hitting .288 with an .815 OPS and 135 OPS+, all of which would be the best marks of his career. But add in his Gold Glove defense at third base, and he has a chance to have a fantastic season.
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A top-10 MVP finish if he plays at this pace for the full year would not be a major surprise, as his elite defense and high-quality hitting make for a great player.
He has already put up 1.0 bWAR on the season, and it's only been 17 games. If he keeps up this pace, he could be looking at a 9.0+ bWAR figure by the end of the season.
Of course, it's going to be challenging for Garcia to keep up such an elite pace all season long. But that's not the main topic with Garcia this season. It's his second breakout.
He already broke out as an All-Star caliber player last year, and now he could be approaching MVP-caliber if this very hot start were to continue for the rest of the season.
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