Miami Marlins Season in Review: Michael Hernandez

Throughout the 2018/2019 offseason, Marlin Maniac will devote one article each for every player who appeared in the Miami Marlins system for the 2018 season. Every. Single. Player. This is Part 30…of 286. Stay tuned.

Michael Hernandez is a 5’10”, 195 lb. catcher from Miami, FL. Born on May 24th, 1995, he signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins on June 23rd, 2017. You can follow him on Twitter @Mikey_Herna6.

Hernandez played four seasons of NCAA Division 2 ball with Nova Southeastern University. In 153 contests for the Sharks, he slashed out a .252/.339/.472 line, with 23 home runs and 106 RBI. He drew 47 walks and struck out 160 times in 553 plate appearances.

Hernandez’ first game as a professional was on June 27th, 2017 for the GCL Marlins in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Hernandez hit two home runs and collected five RBI in a 14-9 victory over the GCL Astros. On July 5th, he went three-for-three with a triple and a walk in a 5-3 victory over the GCL Cardinals. Hernandez only lasted 10 games with the rookie team before getting promoted, going 10-for-31 with 10 runs.

After joining the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League, Hernandez slashed .169/.247/.234 in 23 games, with a homer and five RBI. Over 123 combined plate appearances, he drew nine walks and struck out 36 times. In 264 1/3 innings behind the plate, Hernandez committed two errors and passed three balls, resulting in a .992 fielding percentage. He cut down 10-of-44 would-be basestealers, a 23 percent CS rate.

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Promoted to the single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers to start the 2018 campaign, Hernandez dropped a slashline of .176/.231/.281 in 62 games. On May 2nd, in a 10-8 victory against the Hagerstown Suns, he went three-for-five with a home run, totaling four RBI in the contest. On July 22nd, he was two-for-two with a walk and a three run homer in a 4-3 loss to the Delmarva Shorebirds.

Despite Hernandez’ struggles at the plate, the Miami Marlins promoted him to the high-A Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League. In 14 games there, he went nine-for-47 with one home run and four RBI, with zero walks and 26 strikeouts. Defensively, Hernandez played a total of 912 1/3 innings behind the plate, and earned a .987 fielding percentage, along with a 28 percent CS rate.

Despite his struggles at the plate, and his fringy throwing arm, he’s a solid pitch caller and pitch framer. Hernandez has not shown that he can hit pitching at the high-A level, and will probably start the season back with the Hammerheads if the Miami Marlins choose to retain him.

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