It seems like the big baseball news in Baltimore is that the Orioles designated 1B/DH Lewin Díaz for assignment again. But hidden in the same story is the not-so-earth-shattering news that the Orioles acquired failed lefty pitching prospect Darwinzon Hernandez from the Red Sox for cash.
Hernandez is now 26, but in 2019, he was Keith Law’s No. 1 Red Sox prospect. And why not? The 6-foot-2, 255-pound left-hander possessed a 97-98 mph fastball and at the time was just wild enough to keep hitters from standing over the plate and getting comfortable.
I remember Hernandez well because back in 2019 I was hearing quite a bit of buzz about the next big thing on the Red Sox. He signed with the Sox as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2013 and steadily worked his way up the minor league ladder behind some big strikeout numbers.
During the spring of 2019, Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa was working as an adviser to Dave Dombrowski, Boston’s president of baseball operations at the time. I saw La Russa in Sarasota during an Orioles-Sox game. I walked over and asked him about Hernandez.
“You have your back turned to this guy [Mike Shawaryn] and he’s the guy that’s ready now,” I remember La Russa saying. “Sure, Hernandez has talent, but this is the guy to keep your eyes on.”
Turns out La Russa wasn’t spot on about Shawaryn (a former Terp) and to date I haven’t exactly been spot on when it comes to Hernandez.
Hernandez’s 2022 sealed his fate with the Sox. In 6.2 major league innings this past season, Hernandez gave up four of the 10 homers he has given up in 85.1 innings. He posted a 21.60 ERA and 3.30 WHIP. He allowed 16 earned runs.
I guess what the Orioles choose to see is another power arm they can salvage and nurture. Hey, they did it with closer Félix Bautista and Cionel Pérez.
But big league hitters in 2022 batted .424 against Hernandez. It wasn’t that way in his previous 78.2 major league innings. In 2019 (30.1 innings), hitters batted .231 against him. In the shortened 2020 season (8.1 innings), hitters batted .161. In 2021 (40 innings), hitters batted just .203.
While his overall numbers at the big league level aren’t impressive, his 133 strikeouts across 85.1 innings are obviously eye-popping.
Hernandez has thrown 443.1 innings throughout the course of his minor league career, allowing just 354 hits while striking out 520 batters and holding opposing batters to a .218 average. His 276 walks and 1.42 WHIP aren’t as attractive.
One other interesting number: He allowed just 17 homers in those 443.1 innings, which figures out to allowing one homer every 26 innings. That is a notable number.
So, what’s the problem? Is it too late to figure out a way to unlock the talent hidden inside that powerful left arm? The Venezuelan will come to camp with an opportunity to work with pitching coach Chris Holt. His chances don’t appear great right now to break camp with the club, but that doesn’t mean he can’t turn things around.
When I see Hernandez’s numbers I think a bit about DL Hall and the uncertainty about what role the club sees him in long term. It looks to me as if the Sox always used Hernandez to work around injuries in their ‘pen when they brought him to the big leagues.
As such, it seems as if Hernandez has been yo-yoed around. He is not a finished product. There is no question the Orioles see him as an inexpensive risk with untapped potential.
The seductiveness of the hard-throwing left-handed arm trumps a left-handed bat once again.