HE IS NOT PARTICULARLY FAST, his ball skills are still developing, and he is one of the shortest center backs, when he plays there, in the history of Major League Soccer.

But despite all that, A.J. DeLaGarza has emerged as one of the best defenders not just for the Los Angeles Galaxy, a team on the verge of making its its fourth MLS Cup appearance in DeLaGarza’s six pro seasons, but the entire league.

A solid contributor his first five seasons in Southern California, Galaxy players and officials say DeLaGarza has taken his game to another level this year, stepping in and anchoring the stingiest defense in the league when Omar Gonzalez missed two months for the World Cup.

Generously listed at five-foot-nine, DeLaGarza has put his versatility on display in the playoffs, playing center back and both fullback spots as the Galaxy have yet to allow a single goal in three playoff games. The team will put that streak on the line Sunday in the second game of the Western Conference finals against the Seattle Sounders. The Galaxy, which has a 1-0 aggregate lead, will advance if it can keep the Sounders scoreless again at raucous CenturyLink Field.

Making DeLaGarza’s seasons all the more remarkable is he’s done this in the face of unspeakable grief and tragedy after his infant son, Luca, died earlier this year just a week after being born.

.@AJD_20 has helped raise over $25,000 for @ChildrensLA this year: http://t.co/kyaY9PE7Ep #LucaKnowsHeart pic.twitter.com/N6WAdAcpcZ

— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) November 25, 2014

“It’s incredible, really,” said Galaxy associate head coach Dave Sarachan. “He’s always been very consistent for us, but A.J. really stepped it up this year, especially when Omar was away.

“It kind of went unnoticed but we could throw different players next to him—like a Tommy Meyer or Leonardo and he could build a relationship with them in a short period of time and not seem to miss a beat. It was a good experience for him because he took on more of a leadership role.”

In the 11 games Gonzalez missed, the Galaxy went 5-2-4 and allowed just 11 goals.

“A lot of us needed to step up to fill in for Omar,” DeLaGarza told American Soccer Now. “I think we all did a pretty good job but it was a collective team effort. As a leader back there and a veteran, it was my job to take it on my shoulders and lead the way.”

While not blessed with the physical gifts of many of his teammates, DeLaGarza has something that separates him from most of his peers.

“His timing and his reading of the game and when to step in on tackles, when to stay back, to sniff out plays when the other team has an advantage and to get goal-side when he has to—he does those type of things so well,” Sarachan said. “He stays really tuned into a play the entire time. A lot of players fall in and out of their concentration level.

“He has an innate concentration mode. He’s become a student of the game. He knows the opponent well. He’s prepared and knows the demands each game may bring.”

DeLaGarza attributes his ability to read the game to switching to defense at a young age. The majority of pro defenders are converted attackers but most made the switch as they approached adulthood or after they turned pro.

“I grew up playing center back," DeLaGarza said. "I started playing center back some when I was 12. I think I did it permanently when I was 14. It doesn’t always take a big guy to play there; it takes a smart person who can read the game well and take good positions. I’m comfortable at center back because I’ve been there so long and played there at some many different levels, high school, club soccer, college, here. I’ve seen a lot and just gotten used to it.”

DeLaGarza is in many ways an American version of an idol of his, Carlos Puyol, the lion-haired Spain and Barcelona central defender who has led club and country to myriad trophies despite being only five-foot-nine and playing a position usually manned by six-footers.

“Carlos Puyol is a beast,” DeLaGarza said. “He’s a small guy but he’s so strong and he reads the game so well and he rarely gets beat.”

Sarachan noticed similar traits in DeLaGarza long before the two came together with the Galaxy. In 1999 Sarachan was an assistant at D.C. United when the club was invited to put an entry in the Danone Cup, an under-12 tournament in France, with Sarachan as coach. Not having a youth academy at the time, United put out a casting call for local players and among the players who tried out was a shaggy-haired kid from nearby suburban Maryland.

“I remember training at the (Washington) Redskins old practice field, where (United) trained at the time,” DeLaGarza said. “I remember there were a lot of really good players and being kind of nervous and barely making the team.”

Or so he thought. Despite being one of the smaller players trying out, even then DeLaGarza’s aptitude for the tactical aspects of the game impressed his future coach.

“They were all just these little guys,” said Sarachan, whose son Ian, a future Division I player at the Univ. of Illinois-Chicago, made the team along with future pros Michael Bradley and Kevin Alston. “I remember A.J. and Ian, were four-foot-nothing and a lot of hair and energy. What emerged with A.J. was he just read things a step early. He was always thinking and you could see the wheels turning in his head and he very naturally had a defender’s brain.

"The way he could just sniff out danger, it was very unique. I remember that.”

DeLaGarza went on to play club soccer with the Baltimore-based Casa Mia Bays and led the club to a pair of USYSA national titles before matriculating to the University of Maryland, where he was a four-year starter and won NCAA championships his freshmen and senior years.

His sophomore year he was paired with a strapping six-foot-five freshman from Texas who was learning center back on the fly in college despite having a prototypical build for the position. That player was Gonzalez and the two have been teammates ever since after both were drafted by the Galaxy in 2009.

It was no surprise when Gonzalez, who blossomed into an All-American defender at Maryland, went third overall in the draft. But it raised more than a few eyebrows when the Galaxy tabbed DeLaGarza 19th overall. DeLaGarza’s ball skills weren’t such that he was projected as a pro fullback and his height raised obvious doubts about his chances to play centrally.

“I know there were a lot of (MLS) coaches who were skeptical of him—would he translate (to MLS) as a center back because he’s not that big,” said Sarachan. “But besides his ability to read the game, the kid was a winner. He played on teams that won and he was an integral part of that success.”

Though the Galaxy drafted him thinking he could continue to play as a center back, DeLaGarza found his most consistent playing time as a rookie at right back. After starter Sean Franklin tore a hamstring in May of that year, DeLaGarza took his spot and started 21 games as he and Gonzalez helped the Galaxy defense allow just 31 goals, half of what the club had given up the year before. He also showed his versatility after Franklin returned, starting in place of injured left back Todd Dunivant in the playoffs.

That versatility would become a signature for DeLaGarza as he split time in 2010 between both full back spots and central defense. He started only 14 games that season but the Galaxy went 11-2-1 and claimed the Supporters’ Shield.

And for most of those games he lined up next to Gonzalez. They’ve now been together for nine years, going back to their time as Terps.

“It does go a long way," Sarachan said. "When you have that much experience with another player you understand them, know what they’re thinking, how they’ll deal with certain situations. Obviously they complement each other but it’s not just the small guy-big guy—though that’s part of it. They play to each other’s strengths and then they’ve had enough experiences that they completely trust one another. But they also challenge each other. They’ll both get after it with the other.”

For all his skill in reading the game, DeLaGarza admitted there are times when size does does matter. “There are still plays where I go against big six-foot-four or six-foot-five guys, they’re gonna beat me so it’s good having someone back there like Omar to have my back.”

DELAGARZA NOW THINKS of Gonzalez as a brother, and that fraternal bond was never needed more than this summer. Megan DeLaGarza had a routine neo-natal exam in April where it was revealed that their then-unborn son was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a congenital heart defect where the left side of the heart isn’t developed enough to provide adequate blood flow. Surgery, they were told, would be required almost immediately upon Luca’s birth.

When Luca was born in late August he was immediately placed on life support but on Sept. 4 he had to be removed from it to be prepped for surgery and Luca’s body succumbed just a week after he was born.

“My teammates, the Galaxy organization, the supporters, MLS—they all really made us feel like one big family and that really helped my wife and me cope with things, and still cope with things,” said DeLaGarza, who missed three games in the aftermath of Luca’s birth and death.

“I wanted to come back as soon as I could," he said. "Even when my wife was still pregnant, the easiest part of my day was when I could come in to training. I could enjoy it and I could determine what happened for that part of my day. I couldn’t help (Luca), it was all out of my hands. But the only enjoyable parts were when I got to control what happens.”

DeLaGarza has turned his misfortune into a chance to help others, raising more than $25,000 for the Heart Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles – where he had long volunteered – to help families affected by the same heart defect that took Luca’s life. For his efforts, this week he was named MLS’ Humanitarian of the Year.

Sarachan was amazed at how DeLaGarza stayed composed through his tragedy.

“Whether it was before, during, or after this whole period, things didn’t change much with A.J., and his mood, at least not externally while he’s here,” Sarachan said. “It was almost a good escape, I think he enjoyed being here. Obviously it was very difficult but the support he got here was outstanding. I don’t really remember a dip in form or mood change.

"He still comes to training with the intention of getting better every day.”

AFTER PRIMARILY PLAYING center back most of the past three seasons, DeLaGarza reverted to a utility role this year as Leonardo and Meyer combined for 30 starts in central defense. That’s meant more time at fullback but that’s where Sarachan has seen the biggest improvement.

“He wasn’t that smooth there early on,” Sarachan said of DeLaGarza’s play at fullback, mostly referring to his ability going forward. “But that has been improved, for sure. Even last year there were games we used him there and he didn’t have that comfort level and confidence level he does this year. He’s much better pushing forward now and helping the attack.”

DeLaGarza is more humble in his appraisal of his attacking skills as a wide defender. “I’m more comfortable there, and better than I was, but I still have a long way to go.”

Early in 2012 Jurgen Klinsmann gave DeLaGarza a pair of caps in friendlies as a right back but it became obvious that he wasn't part of the German’s plans going forward so last year he accepted an invitation to play for Guam. (He is eligible through his paternal grandmother.) He played a pair of friendlies late last year for Guam and earlier this month played two more games in the East Asian Cup, which he says ties him permanently to the Pacific Island nation.

“I’m cap-tied now to Guam. Now I have the opportunity to help a country develop its soccer and its national team. I had my fair share of time with the U.S. but I’m probably at the bottom of the totem pole, too far down to make a difference,” said DeLaGarza, who wears No. 20 on his Galaxy jersey.

“I have a chance to make a difference now with Guam. My (Guam) teammates told me now the kids there all want to wear No. 20. That’s pretty cool, to be a role model for kids like that. We are a young team and inexperienced. But I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. You can follow him on Twitter.