March 25--From the right-handed batter's box, spring hopes have been eternal for Avisail Garcia.
Garcia is hitting .359 with three home runs, a team-best 14 RBIs and an OPS (1.134) not bound by big, round numbers.
From right field, though, where Garcia plays for the White Sox, hope still is working on springing internally.
On Saturday, Garcia squashed a ball with his foot in the right-center field corner at Camelback Ranch before his body tumbled into a cloud of dust. A minor wrist irritation resulted. So did a run.
He followed four days later with a nice play in the right-center field gap.
The mixed bag was reflected in the perplexity Garcia sprinkled into his response when asked about his glove Thursday.
"I don't get it why people are talking about my defense," Garcia said. "I just have to work to get better and prove the numbers wrong. Play a little different."
The numbers don't fib about Garcia's poor defense last season.
According to fangraphs.com, Garcia was the ninth-worst outfielder in baseball in defensive runs saved with at minus 11 and ranked 11th-worst overall in ultimate zone rating (UZR), which takes into account range, arm strength and errors, at minus 6.2.
Camelback has been something of a body shop for Garcia this spring. The repairs, getting the dents out, Garcia insisted, are being made both in the field and at the plate.
White Sox manager Robin Ventura didn't need long to diagnose Garcia's defensive struggles. He also believes there's a simple cure.
"It's just how he reacts to balls off the bat," Ventura said. "Any time there's doubt, he's not going to run full blast. He needs to be able to do that."
New center fielder Austin Jackson has noticed a more than negligible difference between the "Little Miggy" he encountered when the two were teammates in Detroit and now.
Jackson said Garcia was slapped with that overwhelming moniker thanks to a combination of his similar sizable appearance to former MVP and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and the hype that surrounded and, at times, hounded him.
"It can weigh on anybody when you're starting to get compared to a guy like Miggy," Jackson said. "It's unfair, but it's human nature, to see somebody who looks exactly like him, almost has an identical type swing.
"With him being able to get away and figure out what type of player he is, it has done a lot of good for him."
While his struggles with the glove continue, Garcia has shown hints of shedding some plate problems.
Garcia said he has grown at the plate because he has gotten "taller" there, meaning he has straightened his stance a bit and isn't lunging at pitches.
"Last year I was always trying to catch the ball," Garcia said. "The fastball, they throw 95, 97 and that's when I missed them. Now, I'm waiting."
Waiting should help speed up the maturation process for Garcia, 24, according to Jackson.
"There was a lot of talent there, untapped, that I think he's really starting to tap into," Jackson said. "It was just a matter of time and a maturing process."
Garcia hit .257 with 13 home runs, 141 strikeouts and a .675 OPS last season, his first full year in the big leagues. The word "bust" was bandied about in some baseball circles. People, Ventura said, were not content with Garcia hitting singles.
Now?
"I wouldn't put him in the Comeback Player of the Year category," Ventura said. "You have to have a little bit of time to be able to do it."
That time, as far as the Sox are concerned, begins now.
pskrbina@tribpub.com
