All of a sudden, Adolis Garcia went from being a guy who’d been DFAed and not wanted and shuffled off to the minor leagues, to the most valuable hitter in a major league lineup. (Major league being debatable.)

A rookie.

Once the Rangers sent Joey Gallo to the Yankees, there is nobody else in the lineup for opposing pitchers to fear.

So, it’s up to Garcia to be the stud in the lineup. Who else could possibly be? Sure, guys might get hot for a game or two, like Jonah Heim. And some guys are capable of having good games, like Kiner-Falefa getting three hits or Nathanial Lowe getting into a home run occasionally. It happens. Just not consistently enough.

It’s really not fair, though, to ask that of a guy with fewer than 500 big league plate appearances. It doesn’t seem to faze him. He still swings out of his shoes on every pitch, just like he did when Gallo was here.

It’s just that the numbers aren’t there. The pressure might be getting to him. Or the league caught up. He is batting 100 points lower in the second half than he did in the first half. All his offensive numbers are way down. Since the Joey Gallo trade, Garcia is hitting just .172 with a skimpy .595 OPS. 

And this is the Rangers best hitter.

He does seem to be showing some small signs of life the past two games, picking up three hits and three RBIs. But, the big question is, can he make the adjustment needed to step into the Big Shoes?

It’s him, or nobody.

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