Maikel resides in La Sabana, Venezuela...According to a story by MLB.com’s Michael Charles, Maikel is the cousin of former Royal Alcides Escobar...Garcia is one of nine in his family to play in the Majors, following his uncles, Kelvim Escobar and Jose Escobar and his cousins, Edwin Escobar and Angel Escobar, Vicente Campos, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Luisangel Acuña...Garcia and Acuña Jr. work out together during the offseason...Garcia played in 53 games with La Guaira of the 2022-23 Venezuelan Winter League and slashed .323/.444/.498 (65-for-201) while leading the league with 46 walks...He also tied for the league lead with five triples, ranked second in runs (48) and steals (10), tied for fourth in extra-base hits (22) and fifth in total bases (100)...In 28 games with Tiburones de La Guaira of the 2023-24 Venezuela Winter League, he slashed .424/.543/.576 (42-for-99) with 30 runs, 21 RBI and three times as many walks (28) as strikeouts (9).
2024
Spent the entire 2024 season with the Royals, to mark his first full season in the Majors...Established career highs in games (157), hits (133), extra-base hits (39), RBI (58), runs (84) and stolen bases (37)...His 37 steals ranked third in the American League, trailing Tampa Bay’s José Caballero (44)...Hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day off Minnesota’s Pablo López, marking the second leadoff HR on Opening Day in Royals history, following Onix Concepción’s homer on April 3, 1984 vs. the Yankees...Hit four home runs in his first 22 games of the season, matching his homer total over 132 games in his first two seasons in the Majors from 2022-23...Turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win with his two-out, two-run walk-off double in the ninth inning on June 13 vs. the Yankees, which marked his first career walk-off RBI. 11-27, during which he slashed .349/.369/.508 (22- for-63) with six extra-base hits, 10 RBI, 13 runs and five steals...He’s one of four players in Royals history with multiple hit streaks of at least 14 games before age 25, joining Gregg Jefferies (1992), David DeJesus (2004) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2024)...Started all six games during the 2024 postseason and tied Michael Massey for the team lead in hits (7)...Had one hit, one walk, two steals and scored the game’s only run in Kansas City’s 1-0 win in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in Baltimore...Went 4-for-5 with a stolen base in Game 2 of the ALDS, becoming the fourth Royal (fifth instance) to record a four-hit game in the postseason.
2023
Garcia played in 123 of Kansas City’s final 133 games following his May 2 recall in 2023 and made 114 starts, including at second base (three), shortstop (11) and third base (100)...He ranked among qualified American League rookies in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (third, .272), triples (tied for third, four), hits (fourth, 126), stolen bases (fourth, 23), walks (sixth, 38), total bases (seventh, 166), RBI (eighth, 50), on-base percentage (ninth, .323) and doubles (tied for 10th, 20)...Hit .338 (25-for-74) during his 18-game hit streak from July 26-Aug. 16, which established a new franchise rookie record... Recorded 10 sacrifice flies, matching Carlos Beltrán (1999) for the Royals rookie record, while falling one shy of Eugenio Suárez (11) for the American League lead and two shy of Cody Bellinger and Will Smith (12 each) for the Major League lead...Despite playing in only 123 of the Royals 162 games, he ranked second among all third basemen with 13 Outs Above Average (according to Baseball Savant), behind only Ke’Bryan Hayes (17)...Including his time at second base, third base and shortstop, Garcia recorded 14 Outs Above Average, which tied teammate Bobby Witt Jr. for third most among American League players, trailing Marcus Semien (15) and Andrés Giménez (18)...Batted .321 (35-for-109) with runners in scoring position, which ranked fourth among qualified rookies, behind Nolan Jones (.434), Esteury Ruiz (.365) and Patrick Bailey (.330)…his .321 average with RISP was the 2nd highest by a Royals rookie in club history, behind Bobby Witt Jr. (.323) in 2022.
2022
He set career highs across the board in 2022, playing in 118 games between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha, batting .285 with 34 doubles, 11 HR, 61 RBI and 39 stolen bases, and was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star...Among Royals farmhands in 2022, Garcia ranked first in hits (139), doubles (34) and runs (104, tied), second in extra-base hits (46) and third in total bases (tied, 208)...Garcia had three stints with the Royals, from July 14-17, July 28-Aug. 4 and Aug. 15-18...He recorded his first career hit in the third inning off Gerrit Cole on July 29 at Yankee Stadium…his second and third hits came in the fifth and ninth innings, respectively, making him the fourth visiting player to record a three-hit game within his first three career games at the new Yankee Stadium...Garcia hit .400 (6-for-15) during the four-game series in the Bronx from July 29-31...Prior to his recall on July 14, he led the Naturals with 88 hits, 23 doubles and 27 steals…among Texas League players at the time, his hits ranked third in the league, his doubles fourth and his 58 runs ranked sixth...He had a 14-game hit streak from April 27-May 12 with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, during which he batted .397 (23-for-58)...Garcia played in 58 games with La Guaira of the 2022-23 Venezuelan Winter League and slashed .323/.444/.498 (65-for-201) while leading the league with 46 walks...he also tied for the league lead with five triples, ranked second in runs (48) and steals (10), tied for fourth in extra-base hits (22) and fifth in total bases (100).
2021
Recorded career-highs across the board, slashing .291/.380/.405 with 21 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 50 RBI and 35 stolen bases in 104 games between Low-A Columbia and High-A Quad Cities...his .291 average ranked second among Royals farmhands...Named Columbia Player of the Year after batting .303 (59-for-195) with a .409 on-base percentage and 24 steals in 27 attempts in 51 games with the Fireflies...at the time of his promotion on July 13, he ranked fourth among Low-A East hitters in walks (38) and steals, and fifth in on-base percentage...Tied for fourth among Royals farmhands with 35 steals and tied for the organization lead with seven triples...Had a 23-game on-base streak from July 29-Aug. 26, a stretch that included a 10-game hit streak from Aug. 1-12...Batted .347 (33-for-95) vs. left-handed pitchers, but 24 of his 32 extra-base hits (including all 4 HR) came vs. right-handed pitchers...Had nine three-hit games and a season-high four hits on Aug. 10 with Quad Cities...Started 89 games at shortstop and 13 as the designated hitter...charged with 11 errors in 329 chances for a .967 fielding percentage...Added to the 40-man roster on Nov. 19, 2021.
2019
Named an Appalachian League postseason All-Star after batting .286 (63-for-220) with 41 runs and 34 RBI in 55 games with Burlington...Named Appalachian League Player of the Week for the period from Aug. 4-10, in which he hit .462 (12-for-26) with four extra-base hits and seven RBI in six games.
