Editorials

Dodgers News: Kiké Hernandez Growing More Comfortable With Role



In the trade that sent Dee Gordon, Dan Haren and Miguel Rojas to the Miami Marlins, the Los Angeles Dodgers received still unproven talent. Of Austin Barnes, Chris Hatcher, Andrew Heaney and Kiké Hernandez, three had less than 100 games in the Majors under their belt and two had yet to make their MLB debut (one of which was Heaney, who was immediately flipped for Howie Kendrick).

Hernandez spent parts of the 2014 season with the Houston Astros and Marlins, batting a combined .248/.321/.421 with three home runs and 14 RBIs over 42 games. He got off to a slow start with Los Angeles in Spring Training, but turned the corner as the regular season approached.

However, Hernandez nonetheless began the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He’s since been a mainstay with the Dodgers in a variety of roles after being recalled to replace Carl Crawford on the active roster April 28. While that’s largely meant coming off the bench, Hernandez treats each day with the same focus.

“I come to the ball park every day ready to play,” he stated Thursday. “I find out when I’m starting or not when they post the lineups, so it’s the same thing.” That being said, Hernandez is accustomed to starting on a regular basis and hopes to become more consistent.

“I’ve been an everyday player my whole career, so the more I play, the more I’m going to produce,” he said. “I’m new to this coming off the bench. At the beginning of the season, I struggled a little bit and then I started getting used to it. I started getting a little better. Hopefully I get more at-bats and keep being consistent.”

The 23-year-old’s numbers support his argument, as he is hitting .310 as a starter, 120 points higher than his average when entering off the bench. With Howie Kendrick on the disabled list due to a strained left hamstring, Hernandez figures to see plenty of time at second base.

Overall this season Hernandez is batting .292/.349/.504 with five home runs, 15 RBIs and a 137 wRC+ in 57 games. Additionally, He holds a .343 BABIP partly due to the fact 87.9 percent of balls in play are hit at a medium speed or higher.

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