Only two players on the Los Angeles Dodgers have played in every game this season: Freddie Freeman, of course, and Teoscar Hernández.
The Dodgers signed Hernández in the offseason to help solidify an outfield with questions and add some right-handed power to their lineup. Consistently finding himself in spots to drivers runners in, the 31-year-old is second on the team with 54 RBI, behind Shohei Ohtani’s 57.
His .813 on-base plus slugging is fifth on the club among the Dodgers’ regular starters, and fourth among their currently active hitters. Hernández has stepped up in big moments for the team, a quality that manager Dave Roberts has taken note of, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“He’s been a stalwart,” Roberts said. “I think there’s certainly some chase in there, some strikeout in there certainly. But he’s driven in a lot of big runs for us, taken a lot of good at-bats. To have a guy in there that hits righties, hits lefties, can slug and can smell a run batted in – it’s been big.
“There’s not a lot of talk about Teo but he’s up there in the league in homers and runs batted in. Not having (Max) Muncy here, he’s been big for us.”
Hernández is a key piece for the Dodgers against left-handed pitching, posting an .884 OPS against southpaws. With Max Muncy and Mookie Betts out, he’s been bumped up in the lineup.
He’s answered the call, batting .250/.318/.538 with five doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI in the month of June. Looking ahead, Hernández figures to be a vital bat in the Dodgers’ lineup when forecasting how the team will perform in the postseason.
Will Teoscar Hernández make the All-Star Game?
As of the June 18 update, Hernández isn’t slotted in the starting lineup for the National League after the initial report of fan voting for the Midsummer Classic.
But after his huge home run on Tuesday, Hernández should receive a bump in notoriety and love from Dodgers fans and those around MLB for his huge bat. He’s also said that if asked, he would be interested in participating in the Home Run Derby.
Hernández is still in position to advance to the next round of voting.
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