Cesar Hernandez off to quiet hot start
It hasn’t been flashy, but Cesar Hernandez has quietly gotten off to quite the start this year for the Phillies. He has a .444 on-base percentage and 157 OPS+ in eight games so far. In the weekend series against the Marlins, Hernandez racked up five walks, including three in the home opener Thursday. This led to him scoring three runs in the series.
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After Saturday’s romp, Gabe Kapler made sure to praise Hernandez’s patience at the plate and the ability to work an at-bat, noting how it wouldn’t be a big storyline: [quote via Jed Weisberger of MLB.com]
"“But something nobody will be talking about. It will get lost in all this, is the walk Cesar Hernandez had in the first inning to start this all off. He took [a 1-2] count and ended up with a walk. We keep stressing patience and going deep in counts.”"
As mentioned previously, Kapler has stressed patience at the plate from his players. Hernandez is one of the shining examples of this patience, as he led the team in walks with 127 combined between 2016 and 2017. His seven walks are tied for the team lead with Rhys Hoskins and tied for 13th overall in the league.