Miguel Hernandez signed with the Cincinnati Reds on July 2nd of 2015, the day that the international signing period began last year. The then 16-year-old shortstop inked a deal worth $650,000, which was lower than he was expected to sign for as one of the Top 30 prospects on the international market.
He didn’t play at all in the 2015 season, though the Dominican Summer League season ended just six weeks after he signed and was more than halfway through the year. Most players signed don’t begin their careers until the following season when it comes to the international market, particularly for 16 and 17-year-old signings.
The Dominican Summer League is quite early in the season, it started on June 4th this year. Things got out to a slow start for Miguel Hernandez. He had one hit in his first 20 at-bats this year, but he also had just two strikeouts to go with one walk. He didn’t seem to be overwhelmed or overmatched, at least looking at the stats, but the hits simply weren’t coming.
All of that has changed over the last several days. On June 10th the DSL Rojos took on the DSL Cubs and the Rojos shortstop had two hits in six at-bats to go along with an RBI. The next day the team hit the road to take on the Twins and things went even better. In seven plate appearances Hernandez had four hits and a walk. He scored two runs, hit a home run and drove in two runs. After an off day on the 12th the Rojos took on the Twins again, this time at home and he kept on hitting. In five plate appearances he would hit two doubles, drive a run in, score two other runs and draw a walk.
In total, over eight games he’s hitting just .250/.308/.389 with three walks and four strikeouts. Things are certainly trending in the right direction after the slow start. He’s grown since he originally signed. He was listed at 5′ 11″ and just 155 lbs prior to signing, but he’s now listed at 6′ 0″ and 170 lbs. The added weight may be helping out with his power, which wasn’t something he was expected to show much of when signed.
As the second largest signing in the Reds 2015 international class, Miguel Hernandez is showing several nice things offensively in the early goings of the Dominican Summer League season. He’s definitely someone to keep an eye on over the rest of the season at the lowest level of the farm system.
Update: Later in the day he went 3-5 for the Rojos and is now up to . 293/.333/.415 on the season.