Phillies 2019 season preview: Second baseman Cesar Hernandez
By John Town
Projections for Hernandez in 2019
Hernandez came into camp fully healed from his broken foot but suffered a strained hip flexor at the end of February. He has since returned without any issues, so injuries will hopefully not be a continuing problem for Hernandez this season.
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If healthy, expect Hernandez’s defensive numbers to return closer to his career normals. Playing alongside Jean Segura, an adept shortstop, rather than Kingery or Asdrubal Cabrera, should also help Hernandez out defensively.
PECOTA projects Hernandez to finish the year with a .271/.355/.398 line, 12 home runs, 54 runs batted in, 10.7% walk rate, 20.8% strikeout rate, 104 DRC+, and 2.3 wins above replacement. This projection is somewhere between Hernandez’s 2017 and 2018 seasons as they try to account for the dip in production.
Hernandez may very well be able to return to his 2016 and 2017 levels of production with a full healthy season.
Hernandez was on his way to doing so in the first half of 2018 before breaking his foot halfway through the year. The team may have been better off placing him on what is now the injured list, but there’s no point arguing that now.
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Hitting towards the bottom of the lineup should relieve some of the offensive pressure on Hernandez. If he can bounce back even somewhat, he will be a valuable asset as the team makes a serious run at the playoffs. If his defense can return to form as well, he should return to the 3-4 WAR player he was in season’s past.