Luis Garcia was just 15 years old in the Dominican Republic when he was spotted by Johnny DiPuglia, the Vice President of International Operations for the Washington Nationals.
“It was instant amor,” DiPuglia said, using the Spanish word for love.
The lovefest continued at Nationals Park on Sunday for Garcia, now an infielder for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals of the Carolina League.
Garcia was a member of the world team for the SiriusXM Futures Game and was the youngest player on either team. Garcia walked in his only at-bat as a reserve second baseman as the U.S. won 10-6 in a game with eight homers. He returned to the Potomac roster on Monday morning.
It was a good experience for me because this is Major League Baseball. I think that I need to be here next year for full time,” Garcia said through translator and journalist John Sang. “My goal is to reach Major League as soon as possible. If I can do this year, I want to do it this year.”Garcia turned 18 in May and was the youngest player in the low Single-A South Atlantic League earlier this season when he played for the Hagerstown (Maryland) Suns. Garcia was born in New York City and as a young boy moved to the Dominican Republic, where he grew up. His father, also Luis Garcia, is a former big leaguer.
The younger Garcia was signed by the Nationals out of the Dominican Republic as a non-drafted free agent in July 2016. He made his pro debut last year in the Gulf Coast League and hit .302 in 49 games.
This season he hit .297 in 78 games for Hagerstown and has batted .333 in his first nine games for Potomac. But his defense has also drawn praise.
“Just a tremendous talent. He is very mature for his age,” said Jeff Garber, the co-field coordinator for the Nationals in player development.
Garber is a former shortstop at James Madison University who was a player and manager in the minor leagues for the Kansas City Royals. He has been with the Nationals for more than a decade and Sunday threw batting practice at Nationals Park for the high school home run contest.
“He plays the game very aggressively,” Garber said of the 6-foot Garcia. “He knows how to play the game. He feels like he belongs.”
The other Nationals prospect in the Futures Game was 6-2 Carter Kieboom, a shortstop for the Double-A Harrisburg (Penn.) Senators of the Eastern League. He is the younger brother of Nationals catcher Spencer Kieboom and one of three players in the Futures Game from baseball-rich Cobb County near Atlanta.
“It is kind of crazy to think about, being from the same area,” said Kieboom, who was 0-for-2 as a reserve shortstop for the U.S.
So what was it like to dress in the Nationals’ clubhouse Sunday?
“It is a very nice clubhouse,” said Kieboom, who is hitting .305 with two homers in his first 20 games for Harrisburg. “It’s something I have always dreamed about. Nice lockers, it’s clean, great food. It’s awesome.”
Kieboom was a first-round draft choice out of Walton High near Atlanta by the Nationals in 2016.
“He is a big shortstop who continues to improve,” Garber said of Kieboom, 20. “He is just very talented on the defensive side.”
“He can hit the ball. He can field the ball. From what I have seen he is going to be a stud,” Bowie Baysox infielder Ryan Mountcastle, a member of the U.S. team, said of Kieboom.
The U.S. roster also included catcher Andrew Knizner, who is from the Richmond suburbs and is now with the Cardinals after playing in college at North Carolina State.
Knizner went to Hanover High, north of Richmond, and has advanced to the Triple-A level in the Cardinals system this season. He hit .305 with Double-A Springfield this year and has hit .333 in his first 14 games for Triple-A Memphis in the Pacific Coast League.
“It has been really exciting,” he said. “My season has gone great so far. I am just trying to improve.”
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