The Year That Is For Indians 2B Cesar Hernandez

The Indians took a chance this past offseason and inked second basemen Cesar Hernandez to a new one-year contract. It's paid off for both sides, as Hernandez is getting playing time daily, and the Indians are getting the benefits of his big season at the plate, where entering Wednesday he's hitting .228 with 17 homers and 44 RBI.

Coming in at 31 years of age, 5’10” and 195 pounds, Indians second baseman Cesar Hernandez is struggling this season compared to most. 

The switch-hitters’ batting average thus far is .227. This versus a career average of .272 over nine years combined with the Philadelphia Phillies (2013-2019) and Indians for the last two.

Interestingly enough, despite the struggles in regards to average, Hernandez has 17 total home runs so far this season, which is a career-high.

Thus, it appears one is swinging for the fences instead of simply trying to get more hits and increasing that average. That could lead to problems as the season continues to progress.

Hernandez has 44 runs batted in, 37 walks, 16 doubles, two triples and 90 strikeouts.

What manager Terry Francona should expect out of Hernandez moving forward is an ability to increase that average with more plate appearances. Prior statistics show Hernandez is capable of a higher average for the Indians.

The best years average-wise for Hernandez are 2016 with the Phillies at .294, 2017 with the same average of .294 and a 2020 season as a member of the Indians at .283.

Take note that in the last 15 games the average for the Venezuelan is .262, which is a good sign compared to the season as a whole.

The Indians are currently at a record of 49-48, which puts them nine games behind the Chicago White Sox (59-40) for first place in the American League Central. 

Additionally, the team sits five games behind the Oakland Athletics for the second wild card spot. There is some nuance to that as an additional three teams are ahead of the Tribe in the playoff race.

Certainly, the Indians will need an increase of production from Hernandez as the year continues to progress in order to make a run at the playoffs. 

The second baseman must focus on rekindling that hitting similar to those years of ’16 and ’17 in Philadelphia. Bring that to Cleveland for the remainder of this year.