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Osvaldo Hernandez
Born: 05/15/1998 (Age: 21) |
| Bats: Left |
Throws: Left |
| Height: 6' 0" |
Weight: 181 |
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| Simple, low effort delivery with a high 3/4 arm slot. Backside doesn't drive very well, doesn't create much momentum. Tight, thick body makes hip/shoulder separation difficult. Would benefit greatly from added mobility. Short arm circle and big shoulder tilt. A touch of effort at finish. No projection remaining. |
| Ricky Conti |
| 08/29/2019 |
| Lake Elsinore Storm (High A, Padres) |
| 7/1, 8/28 |
| 45 |
| 2022 |
| Yes |
| Fastball |
50 |
88-89 |
90 |
Very early and soft running and sinking action. Action isn't anything special, but enough to be an average pitch. |
| Curveball |
50 |
77-79 |
80 |
Can manipulate it to be anything from a true curve to a 12/6 curve, especially against LHH's. Can struggle to get his fingers around the pitch, causing it to back up/hang. Excellent feel for the pitch, and is generally his go-to offering. |
| Slider |
50 |
78-80 |
80 |
Lowers arm slot to give much more sweeping action. Rare back-pocket weapon that only occasionally uses. |
| Changeup |
50 |
78-79 |
79 |
Early fading action. Action is almost identical to the fastball making it somewhat deceptive. |
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The Padres handed Hernandez $2.5 million at the beginning of 2017. At the time, Hernandez's big selling point was the fact that he already had a solid feel for four pitches, solid strike throwing ability, and topped out at 94. Those characteristics are advanced for a 18-year-old. The issue is that Hernandez hasn't taken much of a step forward in his three years as a pro. The fastball barely kissed 91 earlier in the season, and he failed to touch 90 in his 8/28 start. There isn't any projection in his frame. The body is wide and stout with limited mobility. The feel for the offspeed pitches is still there, but the changeup action isn't very different from the fastball, and the slider can be easy to identify.
It's tempting to point to fatigue for plateau in his stuff, but Hernandez has been on a strict innings limit, never pitching more than 3.0 innings. I'm curious to see how his stuff plays against hitters multiple times through the lineup.
With better conditioning and mobility, Hernandez can regain the velocity he displayed not long ago. Right now, he is a quantity over quality arm who projects as a 6th/emergency starter/long reliever, but with a ceiling that is a touch higher than that.
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