David Hernandez

[Hank Scorpio]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being 23-years old in Double-A. He's not behind in any way.

How about 24, Nolan Reimold........?

[mikezpen]

If he hadn't been hurt much of last year, he'd be in triple-A now.

[Ruzious]

I'm a little concerned that Hernandez allows a lot of baserunners. His Whip has consistenly been around 1.36 throughout his career. I'd feel a lot more comfortable about him - as a starter - if he was in the 1.2's. Spoone has had the same problem - except for last season.

[Ruzious]

Each guy has only had two full seasons in professional baseball so "except for last year" shouldn't necesarily imply some sort of anomoly. It has just as good chance of being improvement.

They're both in their 4th year. I think it's a valid concern.

[NCRaven]

Hernandez turned 23 today.

His age is probably slightly over the average in AA but if it is over, its close.

Just to get a feel for the age vs. level of competition question here - specifically Hernandez being slightly over the AA average.

To take a quick and dirty look at the issue I looked at the Eastern League Southern Division which includes Bowie, Harrisburg, Erie, Reading, Akron and Altoona. I went to MiLB.com and looked at the rosters for each team and the birth dates for each teams pitchers.

10 pitchers in the division were younger than Hernandez, several within a few months. 70 pitchers in the division were older than Hernandez, many by several years.

Not conclusive because it only looks at 6 AA teams out of 30, but probably a fairly representative sample. We may need to re-evaluate how we look at age vs. league. And in this specific case, Hernandez may well be the real deal based on his performance vs. the league he's in now.

[Frobby]

Better command? Maybe in the strike zone but I don't think that's what you meant. Has the great Frobster been caught in error? Hernandez has walked 19 in 42 IP this year. Last year he walked 47 in 145 IP. Are you using the new math Frobby?

Ouch, guilty as charged. That will teach me to go off my impressions as opposed to looking it up.

[HoodGuy007]

One thing that I will say is that his "meltdowns" last year came from specifically losing his control, particularly on his breaking stuff. What this season has shown me so far is he is keeping his cool, even after giving up a HR on a good pitch. Last season, the same thing happened against the Blue Rocks and he ended up getting a little flustered and gave up 5 in the inning. This year, he looks like he is saying,"Hey, I lost the battle, but I'm gonna win the war."

I think he is also better when he is "wild". Easier to freeze up a batter who doesn't nknow where a ball is going than one who knows the heat is coming low.

[Ruzious]

Hmmmm. Their first season consisted of two months. They've just started their 4th season. They've both had two full seasons. What do you draw from the fact that Spoone had a great WHIP last year? A lucky season?

I already said that about Spoone in my first post. Look, I made my point, and I stick by it - that it's a concern to me. And I get that you disagree. Unless you've got something to add, then let's drop it. Edit - to delete stupid comment by me.

[orioole28]

It didn't seem like David was long for this game as he fell behind to most batters thru 3 innings. The 3rd inning David walked 3 in the inning and had the bases loaded with 1 out, with Travis Synder up, David lost the battle as he single to right-center, then got a double play do end the inning. After that, he was a different pitcher as he retired the next 13 batters. He threw 68 pitches by the 3rd inning and then 31 pitches after the 3rd thru the 7th inning. He might get the win as he left the game with a 3-2 lead thru 7 innings. Cam Mickolio has now taken over the game in the 8th inning.

IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  HR  ERA 7.0 2  2  2   3   5   0   2.98 

[hoosiers]

Hernandez has made an impressive transition to AA - really good stats for the most part.

He needs to knock that BB rate down a notch and, IMO, he will move up prospect charts rapidly.

[oriole from cal]

He was kinda like a two headed pitcher tonight!!

[BowieMike]

He was kinda like a two headed pitcher tonight!!

You said it! Actually, pitching coach Mike Griffin said virtually the same thing calling Hernandez' outing, "A tale of two pitchers."

I'll post more of Griffin's reaction in the prospect tracker shortly when I get a chance.

[bigmanterp]

The Os minors are looking good

[orioole28]

Wow, according to Mike Griffin(pitching coach) this could of been the most imprtant step David Hernandez's development.

Tonight I saw a tale of two pitchers. He started off out of synch. He was even out of synch warming up in the bullpen,” Griffin said. “I was trying to tell him to be patient and let it happen. When I made the trip out to the mound [in the third], I just told him to let it play out. Be patient and relax. Let your stuff play out. You just trust it and believe it. Then in the fifth, sixth and seventh he hit full stride. What he did was he relaxed.

He didn’t have it in the first three innings, but then again, the developmental part, the patience, and knowing he can adjust and make the adjustment made it a big night for him." - Mike Griffin

[justD]

If anyone on here is going to be at his start tonight, please come look for me and say hello. I'll be in the section that's behind the net, at the top of the section, holding a new video camera that has enough zoom to allow me to steer clear of the ball, and I'll be counting on Baysox_Usher, when not herding fans, to give me a huge shout if one comes my way

This will be my first time seeing Hernandez with my own eyes. I'll be keeping an eye on his FO/GO balance and whether he can stay relaxed and pitch his game, and whatever else strikes me about his approach. I can't wait to see him.