Spring Training Takeaways: Teoscar Hernández is going to be a difference maker
Down in Peoria, Teoscar Hernández is already showing why the Mariners dealt for him this offseason.
After coming up with a stiff back on Sunday morning, Teoscar Hernández was promptly scratched from the Mariners lineup. His batting practice was light but professional on Monday, taking swings at around fifty percent but still ripping line drives in the right-center gap off the fastball machine.
By Tuesday morning Hernández’s back was back to full strength, and the crack of his bat could be heard throughout the back fields of the Peoria Sports Complex.
The 30 year old outfielder is set up to hit free agency following the 2023 campaign, and may even be the consolation prize to Shohei Ohtani for many teams next year. For now, Hernández is set to become a difference maker in a Seattle lineup searching for productive bats that lengthen their lineup.
While some touted the former Toronto Blue Jay as a “lateral move”, he is set up to be much more than that. His defense is similar to Mitch Haniger’s, with a strong arm and limited range in right field.
His offensive prowess is well-documented, but it is hard to understand how impressive he is until you see him in person. Hernández struck a 2-0 pitch over the batter’s eye, taking a bounce and leaving the stadium completely.
This display of power was the first time Mariners’ fans had gotten to see this from Teoscar in a Mariners uniform, but his two playoff home runs against Seattle were a nice preview of things to come.
Hernández ranked in the 98th percentile of Hard Hit % and the 94th percentile of barrel percentage last season according to Baseball Savant.
In addition to his power, I was struck by Hernández’s speed on the base paths. Many may think of the slugger as a lumbering runner because of his defense, but the Dominican native can fly on the bases.
He ranked in the 84th percentile of sprint speed last season, while his predecessor Mitch Haniger ranked in just the 39th.
This was on full display Tuesday afternoon as Hernández beat out what looked like a sure double play. He effortlessly moved first to third on the ensuing base hit to right field.
While Spring Training can be boring and monotonous to many fans, we can learn some lessons about players and how they work. As far as I can tell so far, Teoscar Hernández is fitting in quite well with the players on the team and his impact on the field is being felt.
For a Seattle team as close-knit as this one, a player like Hernández is the perfect addition to the squad. It also just so happens this team could really use some run producers behind Julio Rodríguez, and they now have one of the very best in baseball in Teoscar Hernández.