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ANALYSIS: When we last saw Kike Hernandez (pronounced KEE-KAY), he was mashing lefties for the Dodgers for the last few years. That limited his chances. His career high in at-bats is 414, set in 2019 when the Dodgers had a lot of injuries. This year, Kike has a full-time gig with Boston and already has 279 at-bats in the first half of the season. Add that to the ever-coveted multi-position eligibility, and most fantasy owners started taking notice. Is he just a warm body at shallow positions though? Let's see what he actually brings to the table.
Hernandez is a career .240 hitter, so expecting better than the current .237 average doesn't seem likely. His .271 BABIP seems low by league standards, but Kike hits almost half of his balls in the air, including 15.7% of his fly balls that never leave the infield. Thinking the BABIP will normalize closer to .300 also seems unlikely. Eventually, Kike is going to hurt your average. His three homers in 37 July at-bats soften the blow some, but he's still only hitting .243 this month.
We all know the power is legit. Kike hit 11 homers in about the same number of at-bats in 2017. His career high in homers is 21, and everything says that number is within reach. The 18.8 degree launch angle reflects the high amount of fly balls that he hits, but 10.2% of those flies leave the yard. It may not be conducive to a high batting average, but it's working for Kike.
Boston also has Kike leading off in most games now. He has scored six runs in 10 July games, so if you're light on runs scored and homers and can afford a little nick to your batting average, Hernandez can help you. Boston's offense is proving to be a potent one, which will also increase his RBI opportunities. He has six RBI already in July and drove in 12 runs last month. This number is trending upward as well.
The silver lining for Hernandez and his prospective owners is that six of his 11 homers have come off of right-handed pitching this year. He's not just a lefty killer anymore. If you need a boost in average and runs at shallow middle infield positions, Hernandez is a solid addition to fuel your second half surge.
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