Jonathan Hernandez

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #17 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Hernandez has flashed exciting stuff but, aside from brief spurts, has yet to connect it all consistently in games. With a 5.78 ERA in Triple-A in late July, Hernandez moved to the bullpen and made his major league debut in that role a month later.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: As a starter, Hernandez sits at 93-96 mph. When he moved to the bullpen, his fastball jumped to the upper 90s with a max of 99 mph. During the first half, his fastball got flat and hitters squared him up for hard contact, so later in the season he went to a heavy two-seam approach to create more sink. He throws a plus slider and he gets a surprising amount of swing-and-miss on a changeup that flashes average. Hernandez has the arsenal of a starter, but his command continues to plague him. He falls behind in the count too often and doesn't locate his fastball well, leading to his struggles.
  
  THE FUTURE: There's a chance Hernandez could still end up as a starter, but he might just stay in the bullpen. He has the weapons be a multi-inning relief threat if he can improve his command.
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #6 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Hernandez opened 2018 by picking apart high Class A Carolina League hitters, prompting the Rangers to promote him to Double-A Frisco in June. He had a difficult time adjusting to the new level, posting a 7.14 ERA in his first eight starts. His results were better in August, when Hernandez settled in with a 1.14 ERA over his final four starts.
  
  Scouting Report: Hernandez pitches off a lively fastball that sits at 93-96 mph and tops out at 99. The pitch has good armside run and plays up because of its high spin rate and his ability to get extension out front. Hernandez's improved slider was a separator for him to start the season. It flashed as a plus pitch with good tilt and helped him get a lot of swinging strikes down and away. At times his changeup flashes average with good fade, though that's still an inconsistent pitch. He flips over an occasional show-me curveball. Hernandez ran into trouble when his fastball command (especially to his glove side) and sometimes just ability to find the strike zone deserted him, leading to too many walks and hitters sitting in advantageous counts.
  
  The Future: Hernandez has a history of taking time to adjust to a new level, so tightening his fastball command will be key for him against better hitters. If he does, he could develop into a mid-rotation starter with a chance to pitch in Texas by the end of the 2019 season.
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #17 prospect in 2018
  Hernandez was born in Memphis, which is where his father, Fernando, pitched in Double-A in 1996 before making two big league relief appearances for Detroit the next year. Hernandez grew up in the Dominican Republic and signed for $300,000, with a fastball that has climbed since then. Hernandez throws 92-95 mph and can reach 98 mph. His fastball has an effective combination of velocity and movement, with good armside run and a high spin rate that he took advantage of last year by elevating it to get swings-and-misses up in the zone, which helped his strikeout rate jump from 17 percent in 2016 to 23 percent in 2017. His slider is an average pitch and his changeup flashes average at times but it's less consistent. He can also flip over a curveball early in the count. Hernandez throws across his body, which creates deception, but can also impede his control. Some of that may stem from overthrowing, a habit he tends to get into when he's in a jam or goes through the order a second time. Some scouts see Hernandez moving to the bullpen, though others see a potential back-end starter.
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #17 prospect in 2017
  Hernandez's father is former Tigers reliever Fernando Hernandez. Fernando pitched for Double-A Memphis in 1996, and that's where Jonathan was born, though he grew up in the Dominican Republic and signed with the Rangers for $300,000 in January 2013. Hernandez has a lean, skinny frame and will need to get stronger, but his fastball has steadily ticked up since signing. He now sits in the low 90s and can hit 97 mph with easy, explosive arm action and a crossfire delivery. His changeup is an average pitch with good deception. His slider has its moments, but he needs to define it with better shape because he tends to get wide with it and hitters are able to lay off as a result. Hernandez has produced ordinary strikeout rates, but he's a solid strike-thrower for his age who is ready to make the jump to the Rangers' new high Class A affiliate in the Carolina League with a chance to develop into a back-end starter.
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #20 prospect in 2016
  Hernandez is the son of Fernando Hernandez, who made two relief appearances for the Tigers in 1997. The year before, he was pitching in the Double-A Southern League for Memphis, where Jonathan was born, but his son grew up in the Dominican Republic and signed with the Rangers for $300,000 in January 2013. When he made his U.S. debut in the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2015, he sat at 89-91 mph and touched 93 with good extension. During instructional league in September, Hernandez threw even harder, reaching 95. Hernandez is a good athlete who repeats his delivery and is an adept strikethrower. His changeup could become an average pitch. It looks like a fastball out of his hand but drops to another plane with late action. While some scouts thought Hernandez's changeup was his best secondary pitch, others preferred his slurvy breaking ball, which also has average potential. Hernandez has added some weight since signing but is still slender, so he needs to get stronger to handle a bigger workload. He could get a crack at low Class A Hickory in 2016 with a chance to become a back-end starter.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Texas League #17 prospect in 2018
  Hernandez dominated the high Class A Carolina League for the first part of 2018 before being promoted to Double-A Frisco on June 11, where he experienced more inconsistent results. Line one with Hernandez is his plus fastball, which regularly sits at 94-96 mph during starts, but can touch the upper 90s. Commanding his fastball was an issue in the latter half of the season, however, which led to Hernandez posting 5.06 walks per nine innings in the Texas League. The righthander is typically better at spotting his fastball to his glove side, but he is still learning how to throw it to both sides of the plate. There was some thought that he might have been trying too hard, speeding up his delivery and over-throwing in Double-A. Hernandez’ slider is at least average with above-average potential, while his changeup is still being refined as a more distant third pitch.
• 
  Ranked Carolina League #9 prospect in 2018
  Hernandez was the league’s most dominating starter until he was promoted to Double-A Frisco in early July. His 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings was best among all starters in the league. Hernandez blew hitters away with a 94-99 mph plus fastball that lacks much movement but had plenty of velocity. Depending on the day, Hernandez has three secondary pitches that all show flashes. His low-80s curveball has a tight/short break. His inconsistent 86-87 mph slider is even harder with a short, late downward break. And on his best days he flashes a plus 83-86 mph changeup with late fade. Hernandez isn’t always overpowering because his control and command are fringy. He finds the zone with his fastball, but doesn’t hit his spots and he especially struggles to locate his breaking balls. But there’s nothing in his delivery or effort level that would indicate long-term issues. Hernandez has the stuff to be a front-of-the-rotation starter if he can make significant strides with his command, but even if he doesn’t, he is around the zone enough to be a back-end starter or high-leverage reliever.
• 
  Ranked Arizona Complex League #14 prospect in 2015
  Hernandez was born in Memphis, where at the time his father Fernando--who later appeared in two big league games with the Tigers--was pitching in the Southern League. The younger Hernandez grew up in his native Dominican Republic and signed for $300,000 in 2013. He was one of the AZL's most effective pitchers in his U.S. debut after two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. Hernandez has a tall, ultra-lean frame that should get stronger as he matures. His fastball now sits at 91 mph and reaches 93, and Rangers manager Kenny Holmberg called it an explosive pitch. His slider and changeup both are average pitches. Scouts didn't often get a look at the latter, but he spent time this summer working on his changeup and commands it down in the zone. Hernandez's biggest area for improvement is to improve his tempo and control baserunners. He projects as a back-end starter. "Every time he takes the mound he's been a stopper for us," Holmberg said.

• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Hernandez has flashed exciting stuff but, aside from brief spurts, has yet to connect it all consistently in games. With a 5.78 ERA in Triple-A in late July, Hernandez moved to the bullpen and made his major league debut in that role a month later.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: As a starter, Hernandez sits at 93-96 mph. When he moved to the bullpen, his fastball jumped to the upper 90s with a max of 99 mph. During the first half, his fastball got flat and hitters squared him up for hard contact, so later in the season he went to a heavy two-seam approach to create more sink. He throws a plus slider and he gets a surprising amount of swing-and-miss on a changeup that flashes average. Hernandez has the arsenal of a starter, but his command continues to plague him. He falls behind in the count too often and doesn’t locate his fastball well, leading to his struggles.
  
  THE FUTURE: There’s a chance Hernandez could still end up as a starter, but he might just stay in the bullpen. He has the weapons be a multi-inning relief threat if he can improve his command. BA GRADE 45 Risk: Medium BA GRADE 45 Risk: Medium
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Hernandez has flashed exciting stuff but, aside from brief spurts, has yet to connect it all consistently in games. With a 5.78 ERA in Triple-A in late July, Hernandez moved to the bullpen and made his major league debut in that role a month later.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: As a starter, Hernandez sits at 93-96 mph. When he moved to the bullpen, his fastball jumped to the upper 90s with a max of 99 mph. During the first half, his fastball got flat and hitters squared him up for hard contact, so later in the season he went to a heavy two-seam approach to create more sink. He throws a plus slider and he gets a surprising amount of swing-and-miss on a changeup that flashes average. Hernandez has the arsenal of a starter, but his command continues to plague him. He falls behind in the count too often and doesn't locate his fastball well, leading to his struggles.
  
  THE FUTURE: There's a chance Hernandez could still end up as a starter, but he might just stay in the bullpen. He has the weapons be a multi-inning relief threat if he can improve his command.
• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Through the first two months with high Class A Carolina, Hernandez looked like a pitching prospect on the rise, with a 2.20 ERA and a 77-17 K-BB mark in 57.1 innings. Since his promotion to Double-A in early June, however, Hernandez’s control has escaped him. Hernandez has an explosive 92-97 mph fastball that’s his best pitch and sets up everything else. His slider took a step forward, flashing as an above-average pitch with quick, late tilt and playing well off his fastball, though it’s still inconsistent. The key for Hernandez is keeping his delivery connected, especially when it comes to repeating his release point when he aims to his glove side, which will allow him to throw more strikes and better harness his slider.