Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García entered Mother's Day leading all rookies in home runs and runs batted in. He padded both leads on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners, driving in five runs as part of a multi-hit effort that included his ninth home run of the year.
García opened the game's scoring with an RBI single in the third inning and later added another RBI single in the sixth. In between, in the fifth, he opened the game up with a three-run shot that expanded the Rangers' advantage to 7-2. In addition to giving García nine home runs, it also gave him 26 RBI. For reference, no other rookie had more than five home runs or 18 runs batted in coming into play on Sunday.
Here's García's home run in all its living glory:
.@AdolisJose is ELECTRIC! pic.twitter.com/yVC8lJB5ek
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 9, 2021
According to Statcast, García's ball left the bat at 106 mph and traveled some 400 feet. It was his second homer in as many days, and his fourth since the calendar flipped to May.
García shouldn't be confused with the standard rookie. He celebrated his 28th birthday in March, just weeks after he passed through waivers unclaimed. Nevertheless, he's made the most of his opportunity thus far, hitting .278/.324/.567 in his first 105 trips to the plate. García also had a big Saturday night, notching his eighth home run and recording a game-ending assist:
Want @nadeler's call from last night? pic.twitter.com/IvExaLlL8M
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 9, 2021
Of course, there's never been much question about García's raw power or his athleticism. He's long been considered toolsy enough to play at the big-league level, and he entered Sunday ranked in the 86th percentile in average exit velocity and in the 83rd percentile in Sprint Speed. Rather, the concern with García was that his swing-happy approach could sabotage his attempts to make the most of his tools. To wit, his 0.18 walk-to-strikeout ratio coming into Mother's Day was tied for the 14th worst among the 169 batters with 100 plate appearances.
Whether or not García's hacking ways prove to be his downfall is to be seen. For now, he's among the way-too-early favorites to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award.
