This story was excerpted from Justice delos Santos’ Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
On April 26, 2022, Jose Hernandez took the mound at LMCU Ballpark field for High-A Great Lakes Loons, the High-A affiliate of the Dodgers. Hernandez recorded his first save of the year, retiring all four batters that he faced and striking out three.
On April 25, 2023, Hernandez took the mound at PNC Park for the Pirates against his old organization -- the Dodgers. He pitched a perfect seventh inning, retiring Freddie Freeman on a groundout, then striking out Trayce Thompson and James Outman.
Yeah, quite a lot has changed in the last 12 months for Hernandez.
“Last year I was in [High]-A at this time,” Hernandez said through team interpreter Stephen Morales. “This year, I'm here and I'm happy to show people and show the world and every team out there that I was ready to be up here and compete.”
Hernandez has certainly appeared ready to be up here and compete. Across 9 2/3 innings, Hernandez has allowed just one earned run with nine strikeouts to one walk.
Those would be great numbers for any pitcher in a vacuum, but Hernandez’s hot start is especially impressive given his lack of high-level experience. By the end of last season, Hernandez had only pitched as high as Double-A in five seasons with the Dodgers. After Hernandez had a 3.96 ERA across 38 2/3 innings with Double-A Oklahoma City, the Dodgers left him unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft, allowing the Pirates to draft him with the second overall pick.
“Really good athlete who we have seen progress from over the last several years, then even this year, the second half of the season he saw an uptick in velocity as he got into August and September, getting up to 100 mph,” general manager Ben Cherington said after the Rule 5 Draft. “It’s a big fastball and good slider from the left side. Enough strikes that we feel give him a chance to compete for a job in the bullpen in Spring Training.”
With Hernandez still new to the Majors, the Pirates have been diligent about easing him in. Per Baseball Reference, six of Hernandez’s eight outings have had an average leverage index (aLI) of .20 or lower -- 1.00 is average pressure.
On two instances, however, the Pirates gave him a taste of the fire. In both instances, he passed with flying colors.
In his second career outing, Hernandez inherited a runner on second base with two outs, the Pirates leading the Red Sox by three runs at Fenway Park -- a leverage Index of 1.08. Hernandez made quick work of Christian Arroyo, striking him out looking on four pitches. The aforementioned outing against the Dodgers on April 25 registered a leverage Index of 0.92.
“When you have a Rule 5 guy, you’re trying to manage when we can put him in a game -- when’s the best times? We haven’t really thought too hard about that because he throws it over the plate,” said pitching coach Oscar Marin. “He competes in the zone with his stuff. Every time we’ve sent him out to throw an inning or two, he covers. That’s just as important as anything else for a Rule 5 guy.”
The four-seam fastball, a pitch that can touch triple digits, has been as electric as advertised, but Hernandez’s slider has been his best pitch so far, opponents hitting .125 off it in eight at-bats. The team has challenged Hernandez to throw the pitch with more velocity, giving the pitch tighter action; so far, the pitch has been in the 84-mph range but could keep trending upwards.
With Rob Zastryzny and Jarlín García both on the injured list, Hernandez is currently the only lefty in the Pirates bullpen. The Pirates have enough backend arms to keep Hernandez in lower-leverage situations, but with some outings under his belt, Hernandez is prepared for whenever his name is called.
“I have to be mentally or physically ready just in case I get the call to face those lefties or any other situation,” Hernandez said.