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Luis Garcia Jr. or Rafael Flores Jr.

Who Should I Start? - Week 26 • Start New
Luis Garcia Jr.

Luis Garcia Jr.

1BNew York Yankees NYY
Rafael Flores Jr.

Rafael Flores Jr.

CPittsburgh Pirates PIT
OR
🔓 EXPERT ANALYSIS

Owners starting Garcia Jr. over Flores Jr.

 
 
 
 
START BOTH START BENCH BOTH BN

Includes Detailed Projections

Outlook Luis Garcia Jr.

Luis Garcia Jr. stays locked in at first base during late-season surge

García continues to swing a hot bat, hitting .300 over his last 14 days and .323 across the past month with five home runs. Operating as the Yankees' primary everyday first baseman, he is helping power an 83-62 New York club that sits second in the AL East on a two-game winning streak. With injuries thinning the infield, his everyday role is firmly secured down the stretch.

Our baseline models projected just 12 homers and a .263 average, but García has shattered expectations with 29 round-trippers and a .288 batting mark this season. While his recent .375 clip over the last seven days will normalize, his late-season power surge reflects sustained hard contact rather than pure luck. He remains a high-floor offensive contributor through the fantasy playoffs.

Looking at the four remaining home games this week, García gets a smash spot against Colorado's Ryan Feltner (6.04 ERA, 1.60 WHIP) before welcoming the Mets. Outside of a testing draw against Nolan McLean (3.06 ERA), he matches up nicely with Zac Thornton (3.86 ERA) and Christian Scott (3.99 ERA). Start.

Updated 1 day ago

Latest News Luis Garcia Jr.
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🔓 EXPERT ANALYSIS

Owners starting Flores Jr. over Garcia Jr.

 
 
 
 
START BOTH START BENCH BOTH BN

Includes Detailed Projections

Outlook Rafael Flores Jr.

Rafael Flores Jr. continues to flash potent power in a versatile role

Flores has caught fire at the plate, hitting .412 with a homer over his last seven days and totaling seven blasts over his last 30 games. With Endy Rodriguez sidelined for the season, Flores has carved out steady playing time as the primary backup at both catcher and first base for a Pirates club riding a three-game winning streak. His knack for providing instant offense off the bench has earned him increased late-season opportunities.

Through 34 career games, Flores has displayed legitimate thump with eight homers and an .831 OPS. While his 31 strikeouts in 103 at-bats signal ongoing swing-and-miss risk and an inevitable batting average regression, our models confirm his power profile is authentic. So long as he secures semi-regular at-bats, his extra-base punch should remain a viable fantasy asset.

Pittsburgh finishes a set against the White Sox before visiting Wrigley Field for three games against the Cubs. Facing Hagen Smith and his 0.56 ERA is a daunting task, but subsequent matchups against Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd, who both carry ERAs above 4.00, offer prime rebound opportunities. In two-catcher or deep mixed formats, ride the hot hand. Start.

Updated 1 day ago

Latest News Rafael Flores Jr.
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Performance Luis Garcia Jr.
Fantasy Chart Loading...

AVG HR RBI R OBP SLG SB GP
.333234.3330.66706
Season stats based on the past 7 days

AVG HR RBI R OBP SLG SB GP
.317246.3330.512112
Season stats based on the past 14 days
Performance Rafael Flores Jr.
Fantasy Chart Loading...

AVG HR RBI R OBP SLG SB GP
.412121.4120.64704
Season stats based on the past 7 days

AVG HR RBI R OBP SLG SB GP
.237253.2750.421010
Season stats based on the past 14 days
Next Up Own/Start Comparison
OWN/START Luis Garcia Jr.
OWN
94%
-2.29 compared to last week
START
84%
+5.56 compared to last week
OWN/START Rafael Flores Jr.
OWN
10%
-3.42 compared to last week
START
 
8%
-3.69 compared to last week
Next Up Consensus Rankings
Expert Consensus Luis Garcia Jr.
Not Ranked
Average Ranking of Fantasy Experts
Expert Consensus Rafael Flores Jr.
Not Ranked
Average Ranking of Fantasy Experts
Next Up Player Breakdowns
Breakdown Luis Garcia Jr.

    Overview

  • He is eligible to play multiple positions including: 1B DH . However, he plays 1B most often.
  • Experts rank this player at 13th among 1B's. Based on his stats from the past 60 days, he is currently ranked 8th.
  • The current leader among 1B's is Rafael Devers
  • He is putting up slightly better numbers than the experts expected him to.
  • Trending Batting Stats

  • Ranked 135th in BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) with 0.323
  • Top 75 in batting average with 0.289 and is currently ranked 64th
  • Not overly impressive with on base percentage currently ranked 182nd with 0.324
  • Top 25 in slugging percentage and is currently ranked 23rd with 0.543
  • Top 50 in on base plus slugging and is currently ranked 40th with 0.868
  • Not very impressive in steals and is currently ranked 295th with 1
  • Not too impressive and is currently ranked 102nd in RBI with 23
  • Not too impressive and is currently ranked 225th in runs scored with 20
  • Top 50 in HRs and is currently ranked 50th with 10
  • Slight decline in numbers lately at 1 PPG.
  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: AVG: +0.025, OBP: +0.017, HRs: +17, RBI: +29, Runs: +3, Wlks: -3, Stls: -8,
Breakdown Rafael Flores Jr.

    Overview

  • He is eligible to play multiple positions including: C 1B . However, he plays C most often.
  • Experts rank this player at 22nd among C's. Based on his stats from the past 60 days, he is currently ranked 24th.
  • The current leader among C's is Gabriel Moreno
  • He is putting up the kind of numbers the experts expected him to.
  • Trending Batting Stats

  • Ranked 325th in BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) with 0.259
  • Ranked 276th in batting average with 0.227
  • Not overly impressive with on base percentage currently ranked 307th with 0.292
  • Top 100 in slugging percentage and is currently ranked 78th with 0.474
  • Not too impressive with on base plus slugging currently ranked 139th with 0.767
  • Not too impressive and is currently ranked 269th in RBI with 17
  • Not too impressive and is currently ranked 369th in runs scored with 11
  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: AVG: +0.243, OBP: +0.314, HRs: +8, RBI: +19, Runs: +13, Wlks: +11, Stls: EVEN,
Next Up Health Check
Injury Luis Garcia Jr.

No Injury Reported

Injury Rafael Flores Jr.

No Injury Reported

Next Up Matchup Comparison
Matchups Luis Garcia Jr.
DateOpponentResult
Sep 08VS COLCam SchlittlerW 5-3
Sep 09VS COLWill WarrenW 6-1
Sep 10VS COLJohn SchreiberW 10-3
Sep 11VS NYMNolan McLean
Sep 12VS NYMZac Thornton
Sep 13VS NYMChristian Scott
AVG HR RBI R OBP SLG SB GP
.320233.3200.64006
Season stats based on this weeks opponents
Matchups Rafael Flores Jr.
DateOpponentResult
Sep 08@CHWBubba ChandlerW 3-9
Sep 09@CHWBrandon EisertW 2-4
Sep 10@CHWJared JonesW 0-2
Sep 11@CHCShota Imanaga
Sep 12@CHCClay Holmes
Sep 13@CHCMatthew Boyd
AVG HR RBI R OBP SLG SB GP
.385121.3850.61503
Season stats based on this weeks opponents
Next Up Ratings Comparison
Rating Luis Garcia Jr.
11.35
FantasySP Player Rating
Rating Rafael Flores Jr.
6.44
FantasySP Player Rating
Next Up Career Comparison
Career Luis Garcia Jr.
YEAR TM GP H HR R RBI SB BB AVG OBP SLG PTS
2024 WAS 140 141 18 58 70 22 27 .282 .318 .444 475
2025 WAS 136 123 16 67 65 14 25 .252 .288 .412 438
2026 WAS 136 136 30 65 91 5 23 .287 .320 .553 501
ON PACE 148 148 32 71 99 5 25 .287 .320 .553 548
3-YEAR AVG 138 132 17 63 68 18 26 .267 .303 .428 457
Career 412 400 64 190 226 41 75 .274 .309 .469
Career Rafael Flores Jr.
YEAR TM GP H HR R RBI SB BB AVG OBP SLG PTS
2026 PIT 32 26 8 12 19 0 10 .243 .308 .505 96
ON PACE 35 28 8 13 20 0 11 .243 .308 .505 105
3-YEAR AVG . . . 0
Career 32 26 8 12 19 0 10 .243 .308 .505
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RECENT DECISIONS

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Player News

Matchups

Week 1
ARI @LAC
ATL @PIT
BAL @IND
BUF @HOU
CAR vs CHI
CIN vs TB
CLE @JAC
DAL @NYG
DEN @KC
DET vs NO
GB @MIN
LAR vs SF
LV vs MIA
NE @SEA
NYJ @TEN
PHI vs WAS
Matchup Time Pitchers
ARI vs TEX 09:40 EDT EST Merrill Kelly
Kumar Rocker
ATH vs SEA 09:40 EDT EST Jeffrey Springs
George Kirby
ATL vs PHI 07:15 EDT EST Chris Sale
Aaron Nola
BAL @TOR 07:07 EDT EST Chris Bassitt
Max Scherzer
BOS vs KC 07:10 EDT EST Sonny Gray
Seth Lugo
CHC vs PIT 02:20 EDT EST Shota Imanaga
Wilber Dotel
CHW @STL 08:15 EDT EST Anthony Kay
Matthew Liberatore
CIN @MIL 07:45 EDT EST Andrew Abbott
Dustin May
CLE @MIN 08:10 EDT EST Parker Messick
Taj Bradley
COL @DET 06:40 EDT EST Mason Adams
Framber Valdez
HOU @TB 07:10 EDT EST Miguel Ullola
Drew Rasmussen
LAA @WAS 06:45 EDT EST Yusei Kikuchi
Cade Cavalli
LAD @MIA 07:10 EDT EST Blake Snell
Ryan Gusto
NYM @NYY 07:05 EDT EST Nolan McLean
Carlos Rodon
SD @SF 10:15 EDT EST Robbie Ray
Anthony Molina
Matchup Time
No games scheduled
Matchup Time
No games scheduled