After WBC Moment for Venezuela, Is Maikel Garcia Ready for More?

In a big upset on Saturday night, Team Venezuela beat Team Japan 8-5 in the quarter-finals of the World Baseball Classic. Venezuela will join the USA, the Dominican Republic, and Italy, all of which won their quarter-final matches over the weekend.

The Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu had one of the biggest hits in the contest, smashing a three-run home run off Hiromi Itoh in the sixth that gave Venezuela the lead, which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. 

However, it was the Royals' Maikel Garcia who got Team Venezuela back into this game after Venezuela spotted Japan a 5-0 lead in the first three innings. 

In the fifth inning, after hitting a double earlier in the game, Garcia launched a two-run home run off Japanese lefty Chihiro Sumida that got Venezuela to within one run of the defending WBC champions. 

As stated before, it wasn't the go-ahead home run for Venezuela. However, it set things up for the Venezuela comeback in the fifth inning. For the game, Garcia went 2-for-5 with one run scored, two RBI, and three hard hits. 

Garcia Has Been Key for Team Venezuela

The 26-year-old Royals infielder has been a key contributor to a Venezuelan lineup loaded with MLB talent.

The semi-final-bound squad is loaded with MLB stars like Ronald Acuna Jr., Luis Arraez, Eugenio Suarez, Jackson Chourio, Gleyber Torres, and captain (and fellow Royal) Salvador Perez. And yet, Garcia has been the number-two hitter in Venezuela's lineup and one of their top hitters in the WBC.

In 19 at-bats, Garcia is hitting .421 with a .450 OBP, .684 slugging, and 1.134 OPS. His eight hits lead all Venezuelan hitters, and he also leads the squad with three stolen bases as well. Another impressive aspect of Garcia's performance is that he's producing against some of the game's top pitchers. His double against Japan came against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who won the World Series MVP for the Dodgers last season.

Garcia was an All-Star last year, so he certainly had a reputation among a loaded Venezuelan squad. Still, it was easy to overlook Garcia's importance going into the World Baseball Classic, especially since last year was his breakout season. Before 2025, he had never made an All-Star team and was seen more as a utility infielder than an everyday one who could hit at the top of the lineup. 

However, Garcia has outperformed other arguably bigger Venezuelan stars on this team. That includes players like Willson Contreras (.558 OPS), Torres (.581 OPS), Suarez (.648 OPS), Chourio (.555 OPS), and even Salvy (.334 OPS). Even though he may not have the MLB track record of other Venezuelan players, the La Sabana native has demonstrated the skills and swagger to lead this team to a possible WBC championship.

Is Garcia Ready for a Bigger Role in Kansas City in 2026?

Garcia was a breakout star for the Royals a season ago, making good on the faith manager Matt Quatraro and GM JJ Picollo gave him after an underwhelming 2024 campaign. 

In 666 plate appearances last season, Garcia hit .286 with a .800 OPS. He scored 81 runs, hit 16 home runs, collected 74 RBI, and stole 23 bases. He didn't barrel balls or pull the ball in the air all that consistently. However, he showed excellent contact and plate discipline, as well as a knack for hitting the ball hard frequently, as illustrated in his TJ Stats Statcast profile. 

Garcia ranked in the 90th percentile in Z-Contact%, 93rd percentile in K%, and 92nd percentile in whiff rate. Furthermore, he also ranked in the 77th percentile in wOBA. That said, he ranked only in the 36th percentile for Max EV, the 25th percentile for barrel rate, and the 22nd percentile for Pull Air%. Thus, his xwOBA (.336) was lower than his actual wOBA (.345) and ranked in the 56th percentile, 19 spots worse than his wOBA ranking. 

Thus, Royals fans have to wonder if Garcia may be due for regression in 2026. So far, his Spring Training and WBC metrics don't suggest that he is due for a decline anytime soon. 

There is a lot to like about Garcia's numbers this spring, which don't include his performance tonight.

His hard-hit rate and LA Sweet-Spot% are stellar, ranking in the 90th and 86th percentiles, respectively. His Whiff and Z-Contact this spring are nearly identical to what he did last year. Lastly, while his .383 wOBA is better than his .363 xwOBA this spring, his xwOBA actually has a higher percentile ranking (64th) than his wOBA (62nd). It will be interesting to see whether that trend carries over into the 2026 regular season.

Of course, Spring Training numbers should always be taken with a grain of salt. That also includes the World Baseball Classic, which is fun, but just a small sample. After all, Arraez is a power hitter in the WBC, a far cry from what he has actually done at the MLB level. 

Still, there's a lot to be optimistic about with Garcia, who has thrived in the No. 2 spot of the Venezuelan batting order. With Bobby Witt Jr. thriving with Team USA at the top of the order (.294 average and .867 OPS in 17 at-bats), could Quatraro put Witt at leadoff, Garcia in the No. 2 hole, and Vinnie Pasquantino at No. 3, and Salvy at cleanup? 

Royals fans won't know until Opening Day, of course. That said, with how this WBC has gone for Witt and Garcia, it wouldn't be a bad idea, especially with the need to get more production from the offense in 2026.