After coming over from the Miami Marlins as part of the Dee Gordon trade, utility man Kiké Hernandez quickly became a fan favorite while appearing in 76 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015.
Whether it was the rally banana costume or his high-energy antics, Hernandez (just 24 years old at the time) seemed to be someone you’d be seeing a lot of as time went on. Beyond the uplifting spirit Hernandez brought, he hit .307/.346/.490 with a 131 OPS+.
Unfortunately for Hernandez and the Dodgers, this season was a disappointment in every way imaginable. Over 109 games, he hit a lowly .190/.283/.324 with just seven home runs.
To make matters worse, the timing was as bad as it could have been — without Scott Van Slyke and Trayce Thompson, the Dodgers were desperately in need of an outfield bat that could hit lefties.
But when called upon, Hernandez couldn’t do the job, in a drastic turnaround from last season. It’s plausible the drop in production was due to a ribcage injury Hernandez attempted to play through.
He ultimately was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 29 and didn’t return until July 31. Hernandez was left off the Dodgers roster for the National League Division Series, but was added for the NL Championship Series.
He appeared in all six NLCS games, making two starts, but going hitless in 11 plate appearances with three walks and two strikeouts.
2016 Highlight
On June 19 the Dodgers faced off against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium and entered the eighth inning trailing 1-0 after Matt Garza shut them down before giving way to the bullpen.
In the eighth, Hernandez pinch-hit with one out and nobody on, and on a 2-1 count, clubbed a game-tying home run. To top it all off for Hernandez, the home run came against soon-to-be-San-Francisco-Giants-reliever Will Smith.
The Dodgers went on to win the game in the bottom of the ninth when Tyler Thornburg walked Howie Kendrick to load the bases and then walked Yasmani Grandal for a walk-off walk.
2017 Outlook
Despite the disappointing season, Hernandez is still just 25 years old and offers a skill (theoretically) that the Dodgers desperately need: hitting left-handers. It also helps that he plays second base (a position currently vacant) as well as all over the outfield.
Hernandez still has one more option, which offers some useful roster flexibility.
In an ideal world, Hernandez returns to his 2015 performance and becomes the lefty-masher the Dodgers desperately missed. If that’s the case, he’ll get regular time all over the field and be a massive contributor.
But if he plays closer to his 2016 level, expect Hernandez to spend more time than he’d prefer with Triple-A Oklahoma City while he tries to figure things out.
