After spending the last four seasons as the primary utilityman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kiké Hernandez’s role has significantly changed thus far in 2019.
Instead of moving around and playing seven different positions and being in the lineup one game and out of it the next, Hernandez is now the team’s primary second baseman, starting just about every day.
It seems that Hernandez is enjoying his new role as he has got off to a blistering hot start to the season, batting .435/.500/.870 with three home runs, seven runs scored and six RBI in his first six games.
After homering again in Wednesday night’s win over the San Francisco Giants, Hernandez attributed the success he is having to being in the lineup on a daily basis, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“For me, that’s the biggest difference, knowing that I don’t need to get three or four hits to play the next day,” said Hernandez, who has three home runs this season. “It’s easier to make adjustments. Sometimes you’re just trying to play to earn more playing time. Play every day and you can trust the process. Doc said in Spring Training there wouldn’t be as much platooning and so far, it’s been good and it gives us the confidence to go out there and play the game without looking back to see if they’re bringing somebody in for you. It’s been a fun week so far.”
As Hernandez alluded to, the Dodgers are platooning a lot less to begin the 2019 season than they did a year ago, when they essentially had to make drastic changes just to win the division and make the postseason.
Having more distinct roles should help the players feel more comfortable though, and so far that has been the case with the team going into their first off day at 5-2 and averaging 7.86 runs per game.
