Royals All-Star silenced argument that he's not top MLB talent after claiming WBC MVP

Entering Tuesday's electrifying World Baseball Classic final between the United States and Venezuela, the Kansas City Royals were going to come out as winners no matter what.

Not only have they had plenty of the tournaments top performers in general, but between Bobby Witt Jr. on the American side and the trio of Salvador Perez, Maikel Garcia and Luinder Avila on the Venezuelan side, they Royals were literally going to bring home winners regardless of the outcome.

At the end of the day, the Venezuelan team silenced the once deemed unstoppable American lineup and managed, pulling off a 3-2 win to capture their first ever World Baseball Classic title.

Not only can the Royals say that they have three winners coming back to their organization ahead of the 2026 MLB campaign, they can also say they have the tournament MVP in their midst too, after Garcia took home the prestgious honor.

After a year seemingly defined by an overwhelming amount of award snubs, omissions from prestigious lists and rankings and just an overall underrated vibe in general, Garcia's triumph over the competition on the world stage should certainly silence any remaining doubters who may claim that he's still not one of the best talents in all of baseball.

The baseball world now knows the star reality about Maikel Garcia that the Royals were already well aware of

Garcia's MVP efforts were a culmination of not only the difference he made in the finals, but a dominant effort in the tournament as a whole.

In seven total games, Garcia hit .385 with a .970 OPS, driving in seven runs - two of which came via a game-changing homer in the quarterfinals to topple the then reigning champions in Japan - while also striking out just 10.7% of the time.

And what made his WBC performance even more impressive, and encouraging for the Royals in 2026, was how he turned it on against the tournament's top contenders.

Against nations eventually eliminated in the group stage in Israel, Nicaragua and the Netherlands, Garcia went just 2-for-10. However, against the Dominican Republic to end the group stage, Japan in the quarters, Italy in the semis and the U.S. in the championship, Garcia went 8-for-16 with a homer and five of his seven RBI.

Arguably one of the biggest reasons why there could've been some doubt around Garcia entering the 2026 season is the fact that 2025 was such a breakthrough after a pair of very underwhelming seasons in 2023 and '24.

At the end of the day, it was just one season of top-tier production and MLB has seen plenty of those one-hit wonder-type players in the past.

But now it's 2026 and while the regular season has yet to begin, the World Baseball Classic offered that competitive atmosphere that more rivals the MLB season as opposed to spring training. So, the fact that Garcia not only performed well in this tournament, but stepped it up against it's top contenders is certainly a ringing endorsement for a repeat of his 2025 success when Opening Day rolls around at the end of the month.