Garcia delivering double shots for Keys
Wilson Garcia has been showing off double vision lately, and he provided the fireworks again Wednesday.For the ninth time in eight games, Baltimore's first-base prospect went yard. He blasted two long balls for the second consecutive game in the Class A Advanced Frederick's 5-3 loss to Carolina at Five County
For the ninth time in eight games, Baltimore's first-base prospect went yard. He blasted two long balls for the second consecutive game in the Class A Advanced Frederick's 5-3 loss to Carolina at Five County Stadium.
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"He's always been a good hitter," said Frederick manager Ryan Minor. "He's always had that track record. We were fortunate enough to make a trade and get him and his bat in the lineup. Him being a switch-hitter helps. He's going to have time where he doesn't get a chance to play and work on it. He has really good hands, great hand-eye coordination. He takes the barrel to it really well. He's a big kid for not being so tall too. But the big thing is his plate discipline. He can hit in any count. That's big at this level, not being afraid to hit with two strikes."
Garcia has hit two homers in a game four times since June 28 and a total of six times this season. He also belted two solo shots in Tuesday's 10-5 loss to Lynchburg.
"The consistency for him is huge," said Minor. "He's not going to have this type of hitting for the rest of the season. You can have stretches of it, but it won't happen all year. You try to ride it out for as long as you can."
On Wednesday, the 24-year-old sent
"He's had a lot of patience," said Minor. "He waited for a pitch he could hit. They kind of pitched him backwards early in the first few at-bats with breaking balls. They tried to sneak a fastball by. Right now with the way he's swinging, there's not a whole lot of fooling him. He's putting out quality at-bats, he's getting in good counts and hitting mistakes when he has the chance to do that."
In the process, the Venezuela native extended his hitting streak to eight games with runs scored in seven of them.
"He doesn't strike out a whole lot," said Minor. "He puts the ball in play. He gets up in the count and does some damage. He hits the ball hard somewhere and does it consistently. That's the big thing, he does it every night he's in there. He's real competitive and doesn't give away many at-bats."
Garcia played in just seven games with Clearwater in the Florida State League this season before being traded to the Orioles organization. A season ago with the Threshers, he hit 13 home runs -- the most of his career -- and drove in 60 runs.
"He came in right away and had a rough first game, but then he started really hitting for us," said Minor. "He's a real professional bat. Being on a new team and a new group of guys, he came right in and fell right into what he was doing last year for Clearwater."
Marisa Ingemi is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Ingemi.