MLB Network’s Mark DeRosa raves about Royals’ unsung hero of 2025

Kansas City Royals slugger Maikel Garcia is having the kind of breakout season the club has been waiting for. His numbers are through the roof compared to his previous seasons.

In fact, Garcia is having such a good season that a well-regarded pundit and former big leaguer gave him all kinds of plaudits in a recent segment on the MLB Network.

Mark DeRosa was discussing how Garcia is the only player this season to rank in the 80th percentile or higher in whiff percentage, chase percentage, and exit velocity. And the analyst broke down just how impressive the Royals' sluggers' season overall has been.

Kansas City Royals' Maikel Garcia gets praise from MLB Network analyst

"Kansas City's going to make a run at this wild card, and I know we focus on Vinnie Pasquantino, we focus on Bobby Witt Jr., their pitching staff, all of the above. I don't think people truly realize how great Maikel Garcia has been for this team the entire season," DeRosa said.

The MLB Network analyst then broke down video of several different games where Garcia took some of the best pitchers in the game out of the park.

"He doesn't whiff. He's in the 92nd percentile and making contact. He doesn't chase. He's almost in the 90th percentile in terms of chase. And then he's in the 82nd percentile and hitting the ball on the screws."

All of that jibes with the other numbers that have been part of Garcia's best season by far. While slashing .292/.355/.467, he's already slugged 16 homers. That's not just a career high, it's double his previous career high of seven home runs last year.

Maikel Garcia has the eyes of analysts all over the country. He's also feeling it and calling out people who don't expect him to keep this going.

He's going to need to find a way to keep rolling if he wants to get the Kansas City Royals back into the playoffs, as even with a win on Wednesday, they still find themselves on the fringes of Wild Card contention.