Braves pitching prospect's return from injury has gone unnoticed, but not for long

The meteoric rise of Eric Hartman, Tate Southisene, and other position player prospects has showcased the Atlanta Braves farm system is much more formidable than many folks thought entering the season.

Not to be outdone, Atlanta's pitching prospects have done fairly well in 2026 as well. Speaking to that, one of their overlooked pitching prospects has all the tools to make his own jump this summer. Herick Hernandez is Atlanta's No. 14 ranked prospect, and while an injury slowed down his progress, the 22-year-old lefty has returned in impressive fashion.

Herick Hernandez has high upside, but needs to find the zone more

Atlanta's fourth round pick in the 2024 draft, Hernandez entered 2026 with excitement, but still work to do if he wanted to catch up to the prospects like JR Ritchie and Owen Murphy. The season got off to a solid start, but an undisclosed injury kept Hernandez out of action for nearly a month.

Hernandez returned to Double-A Columbus on June 4, and quickly showcased why he finished second in the South Atlantic League in strikeouts last season. Since the aforementioned June 4th start, Hernandez has racked up 21 strikeouts in just over 16 innings of work. The problem is that the same time span has been accompanied by 13 walks.

Hernandez generates plenty of whiffs, but like any young pitcher his command is lagging behind his stuff. His wipeout slider is elite, and if the walks continue Hernandez's stuff is enticing enough to at least continue development in the bullpen.

With the starting pitching at the big league level under fire recently, more attention is automatically shifted to some of these exciting pitching prospects. While it is likely that Hernandez and Cam Caminiti are still at least another year away from knocking on the door of the big leagues, these elite arms are quickly making their way toward the upper levels of the organization's system.

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