Luis García Jr. named Silver Slugger Award finalist
After putting together the best offensive season of his career, Nationals second baseman Luis García Jr. was named a finalist for the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award on Monday.
García Jr., 24, was one of just six players in Major League Baseball in 2024 to hit over .280 with at least 40 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases and also ranked fourth in National League with a .312 average after July 3 (min. 200 AB). He set career highs in batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.318), slugging percentage (.444), OPS (.762), home runs (18), RBI (70), doubles (25), stolen bases (22) and hits (141).
Among National League second basemen, García Jr. ranked in the top three in slugging percentage (2nd), batting average (2nd), RBI (2nd), OPS (2nd) and home runs (3rd). He also led the Nationals and ranked second among NL second basemen in batting average with runners in scoring position, hitting .312.
García Jr. was voted as the Nationals Player of the Year by the Washington, D.C. media.
Washington Nationals players have won 16 Silver Slugger Awards since the team’s inception in 2005. García Jr. would become the club’s second second baseman to win the award, joining Daniel Murphy, who took home the hardware two years in a row in 2016 and 2017. Juan Soto was the last National to win a Silver Slugger in 2021 claiming the trophy in the outfield.
The winners of the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Awards will be announced in a special one-hour broadcast on MLB Network at 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 12.