For whatever reason, Gorkys Hernandez is not a fan favorite.
To Giants’ fans credit, his lackluster offense early this season – where he batted a measly .154 in April and .196 in May – definitely didn’t get him off to the right start. Hernandez’s inefficiency at the plate played an immense role in the left field frustration that begun even before Jarrett Parker went down with an injury. But the Hernandez of then is certainly not the Hernandez of now — in fact, it’s been a complete 180.
Hernandez has come a long way in the offense department since his less-than-ideal start to 2017. Since his sub-.200 averages in April and May, Hernandez has gone on an offensive tear. It started in June, when Hernandez first began to catch fire. He banged out 14 hits in 39 at-bats, resulting in a .337 batting average and a .447 on base percentage. This resulted in an increase in playing time come July, where Hernandez wasted no time in putting up equal numbers. He hit .316 with a .366 OBP over 23 games and in his 76 at bats, Hernandez accounted for 24 hits, five of them doubles.
Why is this important? For the entire month of July, the Giants team’s combined batting average came out at just .240. Only Eduardo Nunez (who played just 12 games in July for the team) had a higher average than Hernandez that month. The next most impressive stat line after Hernandez? Buster Posey’s .289 mark.
Still, Hernandez’s versatility is his most obvious trait. In his 91 games this year, Hernandez has been all over the outfield, playing 45 games in left field, 33 in center and 13 in right. He holds a .993 fielding percentage and has made just one error throughout the three positions. At 29, he still manages to bring speed and agility to an otherwise aging outfield (see: Denard Span and Hunter Pence). Bochy doesn’t have anybody better than Hernandez to play right now. Austin Slater provided a temporary reprieve, until a hip injury left him questionable on whether he’ll play this season again. Mac Williamson doesn’t look likely to emerge from AAA anytime soon and beloved utility man, Eduardo Nunez, is obviously no longer an option.
Like him or not, there’s a reason why Hernandez remains a staple in the starting lineup, regardless of which position he plays. In a year where the Giants are struggling with an unfamiliar identity crisis, it’s imperative they stick with one of their rare options of consistency.
To put it squarely: Gorkys Hernandez keeps getting playing time because he is doing something the Giants have yet to do all season — improve. Is he the answer to the glaring black hole in the outfield? Probably not. But given the state of the Giants and the fact that they’ll most likely incorporate a “trial-and-error” playing time system in the final months of the season, he’s doing a reputable job in his role. He’s not the power-hitting, pressuring presence the Giants need in the outfield, but currently they don’t possess anything better.
Having Gorkys Hernandez in the lineup every day is far from the biggest problem on this roster. But for whatever reason, he still has the stigma of being a wasted at-bat whenever he steps in the box. It’s hard to decipher which goes unnoticed more: his timely hitting or his stellar defensive plays. Whether that can be accredited to inability to recognize progress, lack of interest from fans or a little bit of both remains to be unseen.
There’s no guarantee that Hernandez will be on the roster again in 2018, and if he is, it’s almost certain he won’t get as much playing time as he did this season. And while the rest of 2017 seems to be focused on preparing 2018, you can’t ignore the effort Hernandez has put in to become a temporary solace from the outfield fiasco. He’s not the key to success, but he’s the patchwork on the sinking ship of the Giants 2017. And until they can find a shipwright, he’s here to stay.
