New York Mets 2023 Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Ronald Hernandez

The New York Mets have a talented young catcher on their hands as Ronald Hernandez's work at the plate is starting to catch up to his work behind it.

InsideTheMets.com will review each of the New York Mets’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2023 season.

No. 20: C Ronald Hernandez, Florida Complex League Marlins and Mets (Rookie), St. Lucie Mets (Class-A)

Statistics for 2023: (53 games) .274/.452/.423/.875, 36 runs, 11 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 43 RBI, 53 walks, 50 strikeouts, four stolen bases, one caught.

For FCL Marlins (31 games) .298/.464/.452/.916, 27 runs, five doubles, one triple, three home runs, 25 RBI, 32 walks, 27 strikeouts, three stolen bases.

For FCL Mets (14 game) .286/.509/.486/.995, six runs, four doubles, one home run, 11 RBI, 15 walks, 10 strikeouts, one stolen base, one caught stealing.

For St. Lucie (eight games) .172/.333/.241/.574, three runs, two doubles, seven RBI, six walks, 13 strikeouts.

Season Transactions: Hernandez began the season in the Miami Marlins organization. On July 28, he was traded to the Mets, along with second baseman Marco Vargas, for relief pitcher David Robertson. The Mets assigned Hernandez to the FCL Mets and on Aug. 26 promoted him to St. Lucie.

Season Summary: It’s been quite the season for Hernandez who started with the Marlins’ FCL rookie team and batted nearly .300 for his time there. That was enough to get the Mets interested in accepting him and Vargas for Robertson, as the Marlins wanted the veteran closer for their postseason run. Hernandez went to the Mets’ FCL team straightaway and maintained that batting average and his power numbers before a move to St. Lucie to get in a few extra games before the end of the season. But, with St. Lucie, his batting average dropped quickly, showing he needs more time to develop.

Path Through the Organization: The Marlins forked over $850,000 to sign Hernandez out of Venezuela in January of 2021. He hasn’t even hit 20 years old yet but he’s already played three minor league seasons. He struggled offensively in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 but improved his batting average and his power numbers in 2022. Scouts look at him as a more defensive-minded prospect right now, as he threw out 33 percent of would-be base stealers in 2022.

What’s next: The Mets will likely start him at St. Lucie in 2024, hoping that he can bring his offensive numbers back up to where they were in the FCL and continue to refine his plus tools behind the plate. He is quite a ways from making it to Citi Field, but a promotion to Brooklyn sometime in 2024 would be the ideal path.

2023 New York Mets Top 30 Prospect Wraps:

No. 30: Kade Morris | No. 29 Coleman Crow | No. 28 Nick Morabito | No. 27 Matt Rudick | No. 26: Joel Diaz | No. 25: Raimon Gomez | No. 24: Diego Mosquera | No. 23: Nolan McLean | No. 22: Jeremiah Jackson | No. 21: Luis R. Rodriguez |