<img alt="MLB: Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/v37UnaFIrxoykpjxBBGrlHVI0r0=/0x0:4786x3191/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73768738/usa_today_24274437.0.jpg">
Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
A live yet erratic arm will have a chance to win a bullpen role in 2025. Daysbel Hernandez spent most of 2024 pitching with Gwinnett, but when called upon for the Braves in a deep bullpen, he delivered a handful of memorable moments, often aided by the strikeout.
How acquired
Hernandez has been with the club since signing out of Cuba in 2017.
What were the expectations?
Hernandez made his debut in 2023 with the Braves and flashed some pretty cool stuff in 3 2⁄3 innings of work, striking out an even 30 percent of batters he faced. Unfortunately, he also walked 15 percent of batters he faced and allowed a homer in the process, giving him a wonky 167 ERA-, 139 FIP-, and 94 xFIP- during the cup of coffee. He then came to Spring Training 2024 looking to secure a spot in a very deep bullpen, but given that he had options remaining and a lot of other guys didn’t, it was off to Gwinnett he went. Given that he was a pretty dominant reliever in the minors in 2023, it was probably fairly reasonable to expect that Hernandez would be a fine relief option, provided he actually found an opportunity.
2024 results
In the end, 2024 was kind of more of the same for Hernandez, but kind of not. He threw 41 2⁄3 innings for Gwinnett and 18 innings for the big league club. At Gwinnett, his strikeout rate slipped a bit, and he had a fairly undominant 3.79 FIP and 4.41 xFIP. In the majors, though, he blew guys away with a 35.1 percent strikeout rate... but again with a 13.5 percent walk rate. Still, that strikeout rate was high enough to give him a 60 ERA-, 54 FIP-, and 85 xFIP-, which was a pretty great thing to see considering that he was mostly spinning his wheels at Triple-A.
He pitched well enough down the stretch, banking 0.5 fWAR, that he found himself on the Postseason roster and even worked 2 1⁄3 innings in the Wild Card Round in San Diego. His 0.5 fWAR had him tied with Pierce Johnson for sixth on the team in relief production, which is pretty impressive considering that he was up and down all season (recalled five different times over the course of the season).
What went right?
Hernandez had a couple of blowups to sorta skew his numbers on the whole, but he was mostly good for the Braves this past season whenever they’d call his number. There was a notable mess against the Dodgers on September 16, but from that moment on, he worked 7.1 innings (including the playoffs) with a wicked 12/2 strikeout to walk ratio and no runs charged to his ledger. It’s easy to dream on him as a key piece of this bullpen if he can consistently throw strikes.
Also, his Baseball Savant overview graphic is funny:
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/A0pukycBROZufE9tLlHXY-_vWNQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25774331/Screenshot_2024_12_04_210411.png">
Basically, there was a lot to like. His slider and fastball both had sub-.300 xwOBAs and high whiff rates, and his fastball succeeded despite poor location because it ticks a lot of the boxes needed for success, including good two-plane movement.
Two of his outings were particularly notable. On June 29, he threw a scoreless top of the tenth despite the first batter advancing the free runner to third, thanks to some decent defensive work by both Travis d’Arnaud and Hernandez himself:
Hernandez struck out the next batter, and the Braves went on to walk that game off in the bottom of the inning.
Then, on September 22, Hernandez had a pretty epic appearance, coming on with a one-run lead, the bases loaded, and one out. He did this, which was a pretty amazing pitch:
And then, he got very fortunate to preserve the lead, in a game the Braves ultimately won by that same score:
What went wrong?
If you remove his September 16 appearance against LA in which he recorded one out with three walks and three runs scored, his numbers look even better. Unfortunately, that outing still happened.
Another disappointing outing, through not too much fault of his own, came on May 21, when he started the sixth with a one-run lead. The inning started with a two-base error on a routine pop-up (thanks, Zack Short), and after a groundout, Hernandez hung up a couple of sliders that led to liner singles. He then got out of the frame, including striking out Cody Bellinger, but that was how he got his only meltdown of the year (thanks, Zack Short).
2025 outlook
Depending on what the Braves do with the bullpen the rest of the winter, Hernandez figures to be in the bullpen mix once again in 2025, though the fact that he has options once again threatens him with more Gwinnett duty. The loss of Joe Jimenez to knee surgery creates a void in the later innings, and former bullpen fixture A.J. Minter is now a free agent. Hernandez has the stuff and potential to be a really good reliever in the majors, but trimming down the free passes will be a must if he wants to stick long-term.
His projections right now are befitting of a generic reliever, which probably makes sense as a counterbalance between him being meh in Gwinnett this year, him having a really high ceiling given his stuff, and the ever-present control and command issues.
<img alt="MLB: Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/v37UnaFIrxoykpjxBBGrlHVI0r0=/0x0:4786x3191/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73768738/usa_today_24274437.0.jpg">
Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
A live yet erratic arm will have a chance to win a bullpen role in 2025. Daysbel Hernandez spent most of 2024 pitching with Gwinnett, but when called upon for the Braves in a deep bullpen, he delivered a handful of memorable moments, often aided by the strikeout.
How acquired
Hernandez has been with the club since signing out of Cuba in 2017.
What were the expectations?
Hernandez made his debut in 2023 with the Braves and flashed some pretty cool stuff in 3 2⁄3 innings of work, striking out an even 30 percent of batters he faced. Unfortunately, he also walked 15 percent of batters he faced and allowed a homer in the process, giving him a wonky 167 ERA-, 139 FIP-, and 94 xFIP- during the cup of coffee. He then came to Spring Training 2024 looking to secure a spot in a very deep bullpen, but given that he had options remaining and a lot of other guys didn’t, it was off to Gwinnett he went. Given that he was a pretty dominant reliever in the minors in 2023, it was probably fairly reasonable to expect that Hernandez would be a fine relief option, provided he actually found an opportunity.
2024 results
In the end, 2024 was kind of more of the same for Hernandez, but kind of not. He threw 41 2⁄3 innings for Gwinnett and 18 innings for the big league club. At Gwinnett, his strikeout rate slipped a bit, and he had a fairly undominant 3.79 FIP and 4.41 xFIP. In the majors, though, he blew guys away with a 35.1 percent strikeout rate... but again with a 13.5 percent walk rate. Still, that strikeout rate was high enough to give him a 60 ERA-, 54 FIP-, and 85 xFIP-, which was a pretty great thing to see considering that he was mostly spinning his wheels at Triple-A.
He pitched well enough down the stretch, banking 0.5 fWAR, that he found himself on the Postseason roster and even worked 2 1⁄3 innings in the Wild Card Round in San Diego. His 0.5 fWAR had him tied with Pierce Johnson for sixth on the team in relief production, which is pretty impressive considering that he was up and down all season (recalled five different times over the course of the season).
What went right?
Hernandez had a couple of blowups to sorta skew his numbers on the whole, but he was mostly good for the Braves this past season whenever they’d call his number. There was a notable mess against the Dodgers on September 16, but from that moment on, he worked 7.1 innings (including the playoffs) with a wicked 12/2 strikeout to walk ratio and no runs charged to his ledger. It’s easy to dream on him as a key piece of this bullpen if he can consistently throw strikes.
Also, his Baseball Savant overview graphic is funny:
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/A0pukycBROZufE9tLlHXY-_vWNQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25774331/Screenshot_2024_12_04_210411.png">
Basically, there was a lot to like. His slider and fastball both had sub-.300 xwOBAs and high whiff rates, and his fastball succeeded despite poor location because it ticks a lot of the boxes needed for success, including good two-plane movement.
Two of his outings were particularly notable. On June 29, he threw a scoreless top of the tenth despite the first batter advancing the free runner to third, thanks to some decent defensive work by both Travis d’Arnaud and Hernandez himself:
Hernandez struck out the next batter, and the Braves went on to walk that game off in the bottom of the inning.
Then, on September 22, Hernandez had a pretty epic appearance, coming on with a one-run lead, the bases loaded, and one out. He did this, which was a pretty amazing pitch:
And then, he got very fortunate to preserve the lead, in a game the Braves ultimately won by that same score:
What went wrong?
If you remove his September 16 appearance against LA in which he recorded one out with three walks and three runs scored, his numbers look even better. Unfortunately, that outing still happened.
Another disappointing outing, through not too much fault of his own, came on May 21, when he started the sixth with a one-run lead. The inning started with a two-base error on a routine pop-up (thanks, Zack Short), and after a groundout, Hernandez hung up a couple of sliders that led to liner singles. He then got out of the frame, including striking out Cody Bellinger, but that was how he got his only meltdown of the year (thanks, Zack Short).
2025 outlook
Depending on what the Braves do with the bullpen the rest of the winter, Hernandez figures to be in the bullpen mix once again in 2025, though the fact that he has options once again threatens him with more Gwinnett duty. The loss of Joe Jimenez to knee surgery creates a void in the later innings, and former bullpen fixture A.J. Minter is now a free agent. Hernandez has the stuff and potential to be a really good reliever in the majors, but trimming down the free passes will be a must if he wants to stick long-term.
His projections right now are befitting of a generic reliever, which probably makes sense as a counterbalance between him being meh in Gwinnett this year, him having a really high ceiling given his stuff, and the ever-present control and command issues.
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