Texas Rangers Add Prospect Yonny Hernandez to 60-Man Player Pool

The Texas Rangers continue to add some of their notable prospects to their 60-man player pool the latest of which is infielder Yonny Hernandez.

As the 2020 season has rolled along the Texas Rangers have continued to add some intriguing names to their 60-man player pool. The player pool represents those eligible to play for the club the season. Already Texas has added a pair of their top pitching prospects to the group as well as their first round draft pick Justin Foscue. On Sunday the club added another prospect, infielder Yonny Hernandez to the pool and sent him to the club’s alternate training site.

Hernandez is a 22-year old prospect from Venezuela who debuted for the organization back in 2015 for their Dominican Summer League team. His stateside debut came in 2017 when the infielder played at three levels that season, Rookie, Low-A and Double-A. Last season Hernandez split time with High-A Down East and Double-A Frisco where he played a combined 122 games. Across the two stops he hit a combined .289 with a .744 OPS.

A switch-hitter, Hernandez contributes at the plate with his ability to put the ball in play evidenced by his low, 13.9% strikeout rate across the 2019 minor league season. He also shows impressive plate discipline and at-bat control walking at a 15.2% clip last year.He isn’t one to generate a ton of power with only 14 extra-base hits between his two stops last year, none of which were home runs. However, he carries a threat on the base paths with above average speed that helped him generate 33 stolen bases last season.

Potential Role in 2020

FanGraphs has Hernandez as the 28th ranked prospect in the Texas Rangers organization per their April 2020 updated list so while he may not be considered in the elite tier of prospects, he still is one of the more valuable in the organization. He’s spent time each of the past three seasons as high as the Double-A level which signals at least some degree of advanced development. Considering Texas hasn’t been averse to having prospects make a significant jump up to the big leagues this season it wouldn’t be surprising to see Hernandez with the Rangers at some point.

An infielder who plays up the middle by trade, Hernandez could provide some depth where the Rangers lack productive options. He also worked in the outfield in 2019 seeing game time in both left field and right field. With Texas embarking on a bit of a youth push over the next couple of weeks, they could bring Hernandez up to get some game time however I wouldn’t expect him to be a regular starter if he is promoted but rather as a utility player to fill in for the struggling duo of Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor.