César Hernández’s Strong Start to 2019
César Hernández is off to an incredibly great start to his season. Until he proves that he can no longer produce offensively and is a defensive liability, the 2B job is his for the keeping.
For qualified second basemen, César ranks 3rd in batting average and 4th in on-base percentage. Even with a broken foot for the 2nd half of 2018, César still played in 161 games and was the 5th best second baseman in on-base percentage with .356.
César Hernández without a doubt deserves all the praise over the past 30 days. He is slashing .333/.388/.522 over that time with 35 hits, four home runs, and 16 RBIs. César went from losing his job and being in every hypothetical trade to being one of the best offensive weapons on the team. The matter of fact is that César has been underappreciated since coming up in 2013. As the current longest-tenured Phillies player, he has silently been a stable building block.
Even with Scott Kingery’s versatility and possible future at 3B, or in the outfield, there isn’t a comparable substitution for César at 2B. The 2021 free agent class still has Hernández as one of the youngest options in baseball. Since Kingery’s promotion and contract extension last spring, the minor league system has been depleted of top-end 2B talent. According to MLB.com, there is not a single second baseman in the Phillies’ top 30 prospects. Additionally, with the news of Odubel Herrera’s alleged domestic violence incident, this allows time for Kingery to find potential everyday playing time in the outfield.
At this point in the season when the Phillies need a clutch hit, the player you would want at the plate is César. A perfect example being Tuesday night in the bottom of the 4th inning with a runner on base, César crushed a go-ahead 2-run homer deep to right field to take the lead 4-3. The 2-run homer made all the difference in the game as the Phillies would go on to win by a final score of 4-3.
As it stands, César Hernández is worthy of an All-Star appearance.
Featured Image: Yahoo! Sports
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