Avisail Garcia finally living up to Miguel Cabrera comparison

NEW YORK - Avisail Garcia was only 21 years old when he made his major-league debut late in the 2012 season with the Detroit Tigers - and made a splash in that year's ALCS by going 5-for-11 against the New York Yankees.

If that didn't show how high his stock was, he was the key player dealt by Detroit the following year in the three-way trade that sent Jake Peavy to the Boston Red Sox and Jose Iglesias to the Tigers.

Before Garcia left Detroit, he already had a nickname - or three, given the variations. Garcia is listed at 6-4 and 240 pounds, the same as Miguel Cabrera. Both are from Venezuela, and bear more than a passing resemblance to each other. A well regarded prospect when he arrived, Garcia became Baby Miggy, Little Miggy, or Mini Miggy, depending who you talked to.

"There's only one Miguel Cabrera," Garcia said Tuesday before his Chicago White Sox faced the Yankees. "I'm just me, and trying to do my best. That’s what I do, and positive or negative, I don't pay attention to what anybody says. I control what I can control and do my best between the lines."

So far this season, Garcia has been in complete control. His three-run homer lifted the White Sox past the Yankees 4-1 Tuesday, and he enters Wednesday leading the majors in batting average (.440), sharing the major-league lead in hits (22), and boasting a 1.161 OPS that tops the American League.

While Garcia has experienced hot stretches before, like when he hit .319/.360/.660 with four homers last August, there is a different feeling this time. It may be that it's April, but it's also clear that Garcia is energized, enjoying life under new White Sox manager Rick Renteria.

He is also benefiting from having lost 20 pounds in the offseason, a slimming he credits to "working out hard and eating healthy" - a disappointment for anyone seeking an easier weight-loss solution.

"He's playing with a great deal of confidence," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "I don't think he's gonna hit .450 this year, so there may be (some) regression, but in terms of this being him truly turning a corner, there's a couple of positive signs. … He's a young player who, although he does have a fair amount of major-league experience under his belt, it came at a young age, and sometimes it takes a little while for it to click.

"He certainly, at the time, was dominating Triple-A when we brought him up, and it was time for the challenge of the big leagues. Maybe it just took him time to adjust to what they were doing to him up here."

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Hahn said Garcia knew he had "to do more damage on pitches in the zone," and the 25-year-old's made clear progress in that area beyond the results he's been getting at the plate. For his career, Garcia has swung at 42 percent of pitches out of the strike zone and 78 percent of pitches in the strike zone. So far this season, he's at 37 percent and 83 percent, which would be career bests in both areas.

Increased plate discipline can come with experience, and Garcia would not be the first player to put it all together after 1,500 or so plate appearances at the big-league level. It takes a player with special talent to get the opportunity to improve that way, to be sure, but there was never a question about whether Garcia had that.

"He works so hard, every day, and he really takes his game very seriously, and he works hard to get the results he's getting now," said White Sox starter James Shields, who has been Garcia's teammate since last summer. "It's only a matter of time. The potential is off the charts with this guy, and he's a great teammate on top of it, which, to me, I see him working every day, and I'm really happy for the way he's swinging the bat right now."

If the way Garcia is swinging the bat right now continues, those early comparisons to Cabrera won't seem so far-fetched. In the meantime, the Chicago right fielder is hoping that, if nothing else, his improved physique helps him stay healthy - he spent time on the disabled list in three of the past four seasons, another hindrance to development.

"Nobody wants to get hurt, but that's what happened," Garcia said. "You've just got to stay positive and keep working."