Following the retirement of Chase Utley and departure of Brian Dozier in free agency this past winter, the Los Angeles Dodgers were left without a clearcut starter at second base entering the 2019 MLB season.
Rather than fill the void with an outside acquisition, the club was confident they could do so internally. Utility players Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor jumped out as the two leading candidates and battled for the starting job all throughout Spring Training.
Hernandez eventually won out in the end and was formally named the Dodgers’ everyday second baseman ahead of the start of the regular season. He immediately made his impact felt, slugging two home runs in a rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Opening Day.
After initially thriving at the plate, Hernandez’s success has taken a downward turn. His struggles have led to Max Muncy and Taylor receiving more starts at second base this month.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested that Hernandez’s recent woes tie to him simply trying too hard at times.
The 27-year-old agreed with the assessment but added he would rather run the risk of pressing to give too much effort than none at all, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I mean, you could say so, I guess,” Hernandez said of Roberts’ diagnosis. “I would rather be the guy who tries too hard rather than the guy who doesn’t try at all.”
In 30 games across March and April (25 starts), Hernandez hit a scorching .258/.342/.505 with four doubles, one triple, six home runs and 17 RBI over 111 plate appearances.
His production has since tapered in the month of May. In 21 games (18 starts), Hernandez is hitting a disappointing .162/.241/.257 with one double, two home runs and nine RBI across 83 trips to the plate.
While he has pressed as of late, Hernandez came through when it mattered most in Monday’s Memorial Day matchup with the New York Mets. With the score evened up at three in the bottom of the sixth inning, he slugged a pinch-hit, go-ahead three-run home run.
It was Hernandez’s first home run since May 8 and only his second of the month. The hope now is that he’ll be able to build off the blast and finally snap out of his slump that has plagued him for the better part of four weeks.
