The Boston Red Sox have had their fair share of rookies step into significant roles in the absence of several injured major league players this season.
While some fans might be starting to get sick of the rookie showcases occurring constantly at Fenway Park in lieu of established talent, there is at least one more overlooked player in Triple-A Worcester to keep an eye on — Ronaldo Hernández.
“After a slow April, Hernández has been tearing up Triple-A ever since,” MLB.com’s Alyssa Gomez, Tyler Maun and Stephanie Sheehan wrote Thursday. “Acquired from the Rays last offseason, the 24-year-old is batting .367/.370/.567 in the past 30 days, smacking nine doubles, three homers, 14 RBIs and striking out just 14 times in 90 at-bats with Worcester. He’s notched multi-hit performances in 12 of his 30 games, including one four-hit performance and a stretch of six multi-hit efforts in a row.”
Hernández is one-half of the catching battery for the WooSox, along with Connor Wong. While the latter is more established, Hernández has had similar hype during his minor-league career.
On the season, the 24-year-old backstop is hitting .284 with 20 doubles, nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 66 games. Kevin Plawecki’s ability to call games at a high level probably is enough to keep him in Boston despite his bat lagging behind, but between Wong and Hernández, he better watch his back.
Hernández’s emergence might not have a major impact on the 2022 roster. Still, it’s encouraging to see two catching prospects performing well and at the point where they can contribute to the major league roster if called upon. Wong has the edge right now, but Hernández is doing everything he can to close the gap.
Both Christian Vázquez and Kevin Plawecki are free agents at the end of the season.
