On July 23rd, 2023, the Atlanta Braves called up relief pitcher Daysbel Hernandez to make his major league debut. Hernandez had been turning heads all season in the minors by striking out hitters at an astonishing rate.
Last season, Hernandez had stops in Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A before putting on an Atlanta Braves jersey. He went 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA and struck out 36 batters in just 24.2 innings of work in the minors. Once he reached the show, his weaknesses were exposed.
He shined in his debut against the Brewers where he struck out the side in an inning of work and issued one free pass. Two days later, he surrendered two earned runs in one inning against the Boston Red Sox.
All in all in the majors, Hernandez worked a total of 3.2 innings across 6 games and posted a 7.36 ERA. The one bright side to his performance was the fact he struck out 6 batters over that span. However, his WHIP was an alarming 2.45.
Daysbel Hernandez battled right forearm inflammation and went to the IL on August 2nd. He was sidelined for a bit and did not return to the MLB roster until the postseason. He did make one appearance in the playoffs where he tossed a scoreless frame.
2023 was a big year for Daysbel Hernandez. By adding MLB experience to his resume, he will now likely return to the minors where he can refine his game and address areas for improvement to get back to the bigs. Hernandez has explosive strikeout stuff but his command seems to be too inconsistent to be effective at the highest level.
Throwing strikes and creating weaker contact should be at the top of Hernandez’ priority list. If those two aspects of his arsenal improves, he could become a vital piece to the Braves bullpen.