Next up on our list is a catcher.
Name: Ronald Hernandez
Position: C
Born: 10/23/2003
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 175 lbs.
Bats/Throws: S/R
Acquired: Trade (July 28, 2023: Traded by the Miami Marlins with Marco Vargas to the New York Mets for David Robertson)
2024 Stats: 98 G, 351 AB, .271/.362/.359, 95 H, 12 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 47 BB, 96 K, 7/9 SB, .359 BABIP (Single-A) / 10 G, 36 AB, .167/.286/.222, 6 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 BB, 16 K, 1/1 SB, .300 BABIP (High-A)
Venezuelan catcher Ronald Hernandez signed with the Miami Marlins on January 15, 2021 for a $850,000 signing bonus, the second-highest bonus that they gave to any player they signed in the 2021-2022 period after Cuban infielder Yiddi Cappe. The 17-year-old made his professional debut that year with the DSL Marlins and appeared in 44 games, hitting .209/.365/.358 with 5 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs, 3 stolen bases in 4 attempts, and 31 walks to 32 strikeouts. He was promoted in 2022 and sent stateside to the Florida Complex League, where he appeared in 41 games for the FCL Marlins and hit .236/.329/.321 with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 2 stolen bases in 3 attempts, and 14 walks to 32 strikeouts. He remained in the Florida Complex League for the start of the 2023 season, but the switch-hitting backstop grew, filled-in, and made some adjustments to his swing to give it more loft, and the difference between his 2022 performance and 2023 performance was like night-and-day. In 38 games for the FCL Marlins, the 19-year-old Hernandez hit .298/.464/.452 with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 3 stolen bases in as many attempts, and 32 walks to 27 strikeouts.
On July 28, 2023, Hernandez was packaged along with teammate Marco Vargas and traded to the Mets in exchange for veteran reliever David Robertson. Hernandez remained in the FCL, now with the FCL Mets, and continued his strong season, hitting .286/.509/.486 in 14 games with them, adding 4 doubles, 1 home run, 1 stolen base, 15 walks, and 10 more strikeouts to his tally for the season. At the end of August, he was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets, and while he had an incredible debut, going 3-5 with a double, he otherwise struggled against Single-A pitching before the season ended. Appearing in 8 games for St. Lucie, Hernandez went 5-29, hitting 2 doubles, drawing 6 walks, and striking out 13 times. All in all, he spent the majority of his season in the Florida Complex League and hit an outstanding .294/.472/.455 in 46 games with 9 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 4 stolen bases in 5 attempts, and 47 walks to 37 strikeouts, a 161 wRC+.
Hernandez spent the majority of the 2024 season in St. Lucie, appearing in 98 games for the St. Lucie Mets. The 20-year-old backstop had a solid season, hitting .271/.362/.359 with 12 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 7 stolen bases, and 47 walks to 96 strikeouts. At the end of August, the organization promoted him to the Brooklyn Cyclones, where he finished out the season. With Brooklyn, he went 6-36 in 10 games, knocking two doubles, stealing one base, and walking 5 times to 16 strikeouts.
Hernandez is listed at 5’11”, 155-pounds, but he grew and added muscle mass between the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He stands slightly open at the plate, holding his hands high and wrapping his bat behind his head at 10:00 from the left-side and 2:00 from the right. He swings with a leg moderate kick and his bat path has upward loft through the strike zone. He averaged an 86.8 MPH exit velocity during his time with St. Lucie, with 14 of his 115 recorded batted ball events logging exit velocities of 100 MPH+ and 32 logging exit velocities of 95 MPH or higher. The majority of his at-bats in 2024 came as a left-handed batter against right-handed pitchers, but in a small sample size of 78 at-bats, Hernandez had a lot of success against left-handed pitchers as a right-handed batter, hitting .295/.337/.359 with two doubles, one home run, and 4 walks to 15 strikeouts.
Hernandez will need to hit the ball in the air more to be an effective hitter, posting a 27.1% line drive rate, 43.0% ground ball rate, and 29.9% fly ball rate in 2024 with St. Lucie. He had the most trouble with putting breaking balls into the air, swinging over them for lightly tapped ground balls, and in general, he struggled with breaking balls, hitting .160 against them with a .213 slugging percentage and .053 ISO. He had no such problems against fastballs or changeups, hitting .349 against fastballs with a .476 slugging percentage and .127 ISO and .290 against changeups with a .355 slugging percentage and .065 ISO.
Behind the plate, scouts and evaluators believe Hernandez is a good defender at the present with the potential to blossom into an above-average catcher. He is mobile and blocks pitches well. He posts plus pop times, has an average arm, and is getting more accurate with his throws. He shows excellent leadership qualities and has a strong work ethic. If he is able to put everything together while improving on his catch-and-throw to limit the running game, Hernandez will be able to positively contribute on both sides of the plate.