3 takeaways from a nice KC Royals series split

A rookie infielder continues to solidify his spot with the KC Royals

A season ago, promising prospect Maikel Garcia played nine times for Kansas City. So it was that he officially remained a rookie when the club called him up in May, an opportunity he's making the best of as he tries to put an end to the constant uncertainty created at third base when the Royals traded Mike Moustakas (who Colorado just shipped to the Angels) to Milwaukee five years ago.

And nothing he did in Tampa this weekend suggests Garcia isn't succeeding. He started all four games at third, where's he's now played 37 times this season, and went a respectable 4-for-15 at the plate. Friday, his ninth-inning leadoff walk and quick steals of second and third put him in position to score what proved to be the winning run on MJ Melendez's two-out single and, although it went for naught, he tied Sunday's game with an RBI single in the fourth.

He's now hitting .280 with a pair of homers and 18 RBIs in 45 games, and hasn't been caught stealing in 11 attempts.

Not surprisingly, Garcia played flawlessly in the field against Tampa. He hasn't made an error at third all season and his nine OAA through Saturday's games tied him with Pittsburgh's Ke'Bryan Hayes for the big leagues' best at the hot corner.