Kansas City Royals: Carlos Hernandez showed versatility in rookie season
Kansas City Royals fans got a glimpse of Carlos Hernandez in 2020 and for the most part liked what they saw.
The 2020 season was the year of debuts for the Kansas City Royals and while Carlos Hernandez wasn’t as big of a name as guys like Brady Singer or Kris Bubic, he still looks to be a prominent part of this rebuild. If for nothing else, Hernandez offers the ability to be used as either a starter or a reliever, serving both roles during the course of his rookie year.
Royals fans first saw Hernandez on Sept. 1 against Cleveland when he twirled 3.2 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits against the Tribe. It was a nice debut for the rookie and stepping in as the long reliever paved the way for the Royals to blow the doors off of Cleveland in that game, winning 10-1.
Hernandez entered the game in a relief role one more time in 2020, which came on Sept. 6 against the White Sox. He wasn’t perfect this time around, allowing a run in his 2.2 innings of relief, but he still looked pretty dang good, surrendering just three hits in that appearance.
Hernandez appeared on the mound three more times in 2020, all of them being starts for the rookie. He never went deep into a game with his longest outing as a starter actually tying his longest outing as a reliever with 3.2 innings pitched. He ended the year with an ERA of 4.91 and a WHIP of 1.70.
The most important aspect for Carlos Hernandez was that the Kansas City Royals could rely on him in two different roles.
The Royals really do look to have a solid rotation forming and Hernandez might get another crack at making the rotation next year. He did look better out of the bullpen though and that might be a better spot for him, but it’s going to be interesting to see how the organization handles all of their talented arms coming up through the farm system.
Hernandez looked good in his two relief appearances and while he didn’t go deep in any of his three starts, there was enough to take away from those outings. He’s still just 23 years old and will turn 24 shortly before the 2021 season is set to get underway.
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Hopefully Royals fans get to see more of Hernandez in the future because the kid most definitely has potential and should be a special pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.