The Effectively-Timed Teoscar Hernández Revival

The primary 5 months of Teoscar Hernández’s season have been largely forgettable. The 33-year-old left fielder scuffled by the primary seven weeks earlier than catching fireplace through the second half of Could, solely to endure a left hamstring pressure that knocked him out for over a month. Upon returning, he was a serious drag on the offense for the higher a part of two months. However currently, Hernández has been tearing the quilt off the ball, rising to the event to assist a banged-up Dodgers squad — one which simply positioned Shohei Ohtani on the injured record and known as up prime prospect Josue De Paula — reel off a season-high seven-game successful streak.

Hernández has hit safely in his final 10 video games, from August 30 by September 9, batting .514/.595/.829 (285 wRC+) in 42 plate appearances, with two residence runs and 14 RBI. On 28 batted balls throughout that stretch, he’s produced a 97.1-mph common exit velocity, a 25.0% barrel price, and a 60.7% hard-hit price, with a .441 xBA and a .786 xSLG. Fifteen of these 28 batted balls have been hit a minimum of 100 mph; seven of them, all 108.7 mph or larger, rank amongst his 9 hardest-hit balls all season, capped by a 112.6-mph screamer he hit for a three-run homer in opposition to the Reds’ Brandon Williamson on Monday night time.

By means of his ups and downs, Hernández had hit simply .245/.307/.385 (91 wRC+) earlier than the streak started. Since then, he’s lifted his general line to a way more respectable .269/.336/.425 (110 wRC+). All of this has occurred at a time when 4 of the Dodgers’ prime 5 hitters by wRC+ have been both utterly sidelined by accidents or slowed by them:

• Ohtani (142 wRC+ on the season) had been a non-factor over the previous two weeks, going 2-for-26 with 4 walks, 13 strikeouts, and 0 extra-base hits in seven video games from August 27 by September 7. Nonetheless battling left knee, proper biceps, and neck points which have prevented him from pitching since July 3 — and which have apparently ended his moundwork for the season — he sat out 4 video games earlier than returning to the lineup on September 7. Then, after lacking two extra video games, he was lastly positioned on the 15-day IL, backdated to September 8.
• Freddie Freeman (130 wRC+) is within the midst of a 1-for-19 droop and sat out Wednesday night time’s sport in opposition to the Reds whereas coping with soreness in his proper knee.
• Dalton Dashing (120 wRC+) took simply 5 plate appearances over 4 video games between lacking a month on account of a UCL tear and returning to the injured record with proper elbow discomfort.
• Andy Pages (119 wRC+), the group’s best outfielder this season, has been sidelined since he was hit by a pitch that fractured his left hand on August 21.

In the meantime, Max Muncy (131 wRC+) was mired in a 2-for-29 droop till breaking out over the previous 4 video games; he’s the one one of many group’s prime 5 hitters to play in all 4, making it an excellent time for Hernández to step up. To be truthful, through the course of Hernández’s 10-game hitting streak — in opposition to the Tigers, Cardinals, Nationals, and Reds — the Dodgers haven’t precisely been going through elite hurlers, however these wins matter. Los Angeles is now 89-57, simply 1.5 video games behind the Brewers (91-56) for the highest seed within the Nationwide League and three.5 forward of the Braves for that all-important first-round bye.

When Hernández began this season so slowly, hitting simply .241/.320/.368 (91 wRC+) with 4 homers and a 29.3% strikeout price by Could 12, it was truthful to marvel if his greatest days have been behind him. He had put collectively among the finest seasons of his profession in 2024 after signing a one-year, $23.5 million take care of the Dodgers, slashing .272/.339/.501 (132 wRC+) and setting profession highs in homers (33) and steals (12) en route to three.4 WAR and the second All-Star choice of his profession. That efficiency, plus the great vibes generated by his position within the group’s championship run, led the Dodgers to re-sign him to a three-year, $66 million deal. Whereas he began the 2025 season sizzling, he cooled off after lacking time on account of a groin pressure in Could, and struggled to an general .247/.284/.454 (102 wRC+) line, with the bottom OBP, wRC+, and WAR (0.6) of any of his eight full main league seasons. The obvious power-for-contact tradeoff that he made whereas slicing his strikeout price to a career-low 24.5% didn’t fairly repay. He had his moments in October whereas serving to the Dodgers win one other championship, however it was an uneven efficiency. Three of his 5 residence runs got here within the Dodgers’ first three postseason video games, and 4 of his seven hits in opposition to the Blue Jays within the World Sequence have been within the 18-inning epic Sport 3.

In that mild, a slide persevering with into 2026 wouldn’t have been a shock, however immediately, Hernández heated up, hitting .375/.426/.625 with three homers from Could 13–27. Alas, on the final of these dates, he strained his left hamstring whereas working out an infield grounder, and whereas it was recognized solely as a Grade 1 pressure, normal supervisor Brandon Gomes and supervisor Dave Roberts each vowed endurance, having discovered a lesson with the group’s dealing with of Hernández’s 2025 damage. Final 12 months, he returned to the lineup two weeks after the groin pressure, having performed only one rehab sport, at Excessive-A Rancho Cucamonga, however hit for only a 68 wRC+ within the two months between his damage and the All-Star break.

“When [the groin strain] occurred final 12 months, we most likely rushed it a bit on that entrance,” stated Gomes.

“We’re going to be very aware of the buildup,” stated Roberts. “I’m positive there’s going to be a rehab task and ensuring issues are good for him, so when he will get again to us, he can hit the bottom working.”

This time round, Hernández missed simply over a month, returning to the lineup on June 29, after a four-game rehab stint at Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis. Nonetheless, the outcomes have been much like final 12 months’s post-injury droop. Although he collected two hits in his return, he batted .206/.253/.335 (61 wRC+) with 4 homers and a 28.9% strikeout price in 166 plate appearances from that time by August 23.

By then, Roberts was brazenly contemplating lowering Hernández’s position by platooning him both with reserve Alex Name or one of many group’s lefty-swinging outfield prospects, comparable to De Paula or James Tibbs III, as soon as rosters expanded on September 1. Hernández was ready for that chance, as he stated after hitting a walk-off two-run double off Cardinals nearer Riley O’Brien on September 3:

“I’m a participant that, if I’m not doing what I’m alleged to do, and someone else is doing the job and serving to the group win –– I informed Dave [Roberts], ‘When you really feel like it’s a must to use someone else in there, simply do it… However know that I’m going to maintain working and I’m going to attempt to be prepared for the instances that you just want me.”

Whereas calling the standard of Hernández’s at-bats “not nice,” Roberts famous that the group’s hitting instructors had some concepts on how one can assist the struggling slugger. Even so, the supervisor benched Hernández in favor of the righty-swinging Name in a begin in opposition to Braves righty Bryce Elder on August 25, the day after an off day. He returned to the lineup the following day and eked out a few hits, together with one on a 44.5-mph tapper to 3rd base. He sandwiched one other two-hit sport on August 28 between a pair of 0-fers; within the latter one, he had a pair of loud fly balls, together with one off Kenley Jansen that made Javier Báez run a protracted method to chase down within the hole.

Hernández’s hitting streak started the following day, with a single and a homer — his first since August 3 — off the Tigers’ Framber Valdez. He’s had six multi-hit video games, and 5 multi-RBI video games through the streak, which included the walk-off double, a two-run double off the Nationals’ Jackson Kent the following night time, an unsuccessful try at an inside-the-park residence run on Tuesday, and two hits in 4 innings on Wednesday earlier than getting a breather in what turned a 14-1 rout.

What the slugger and the Dodgers found out on that off day was a hyperlink between his lower-body points and his lack of manufacturing. From the California Put up’s Jack Harris:

The reply they landed on: His left hamstring damage had impacted his decrease physique, inflicting his entrance hip to fly open too quickly and his swing to lack its regular energy and adjustability.

“The extra he can keep closed with the decrease half and sync it up with the higher physique, then it retains him on the ball extra, [gives him more] plate protection, after which he’s capable of do what he must do on the plate,” hitting coach Aaron Bates stated. “He’s so twitchy and explosive. However he all the time battles staying sq. and that form of factor … In order that entrance hip staying closed, and his left hamstring [injury], it form of goes hand-in-hand.”

In his first plate look in opposition to the Cardinals on September 3, SportsNet LA’s Joe Davis mentioned Hernández’s correction, which incorporates him twisting his entrance leg inward after which tapping his toe.

From earlier within the sport, Teoscar Hernandez is now 6-13 with 2 2B and a couple of BB/2 Okay since. Amusingly, the change was after the sport he homered. A brand new cope level a minimum of. https://t.co/1qgl882c5U pic.twitter.com/iMzWwiAtR1

— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 4, 2026

A pair days later, Hernández defined the hyperlink between his batting stance and his accidents. From the Orange Nation Register’s Invoice Plunkett:

Hernández stated he has three variations that he makes use of all through the season based mostly on how he’s feeling bodily and different components. His most well-liked stance has his entrance foot barely open with a first-move timing mechanism that includes a slight toe faucet/leg kick. …

“Final 12 months, I used it earlier than I had the damage… Then after I got here again, I used to be doing the identical factor however I used to be feeling it (in his injured leg) in order that’s why I finished. This 12 months after I bought my hamstring difficulty, I needed to eliminate it as a result of it was placing a lot strain on the hamstring.”

The variations are powerful to identify in Statcast’s Batting Stance and Intercept breakdown until one goes by particular dates. The month-to-month aggregations supply few clues — aside from the small pattern of September:

The large takeaway is that enhance in his stance angle from 5 levels open in August to 18 levels open in September. The accompanying diagrams present the place of his toes earlier than the pitch (black) and at intercept (pink), however they miss the animated intermediate step at pitch launch (purple), which I attempted to seize by screenshots. That is what it seemed like in June (a pattern based mostly on simply two video games):

And that is from September:

Whereas the location of Hernández’s again foot has remained fairly fixed, his setup has opened up significantly, together with his left foot shifting extra throughout his swing — extra towards the plate and deeper within the field at launch, then extra towards the pitcher at intercept.

Hernández’s changes have translated right into a quicker swing. After averaging a 72.3-mph swing velocity, with a 22.5% fast-swing price, a 23.6% squared-up price, and a 11.2% blast price from Opening Day by the top of August, he’s averaged a swing velocity of 74.0 mph with a 41.9% quick swing price, a 33.9% squared-up price, and a 22.6% blast price in September. His exit velocity, barrel price, and hard-hit price have spiked, to the purpose that his general Statcast numbers are within the ballpark of the previous two seasons:

A couple of observations. For one, Hernández’s elevated launch angle nonetheless displays his larger price of getting underneath pitches — hitting popups and routine fly balls. He did so on 20.4% of all batted balls in 2024 and 20.9% final 12 months, however is as much as 24.7% this 12 months, together with his infield fly ball price practically doubling, from 5.7% to 10.7%. His 14.8% pulled air price is larger than both of the previous two seasons, however that also locations him in simply the twenty fifth percentile of certified hitters, and due to these additional popups and cans of corn, he’s been much less productive in that context than common. He typically makes up for it by being particularly productive on opposite-field air balls:

Amongst batters with a minimum of 25 opposite-field air balls, Hernández’s slugging proportion positioned within the 97th percentile in 2024, slipped to the 78th final 12 months, however is again as much as the 86th in 2026 regardless of the underlying exit velo, barrel price, and hard-hit price not being as strong. By comparability, on pulled air balls, his slugging proportion has fallen from the 96th percentile in 2024 to the 83rd final 12 months and to simply the forty eighth this 12 months. That pulled air SLG positioned within the thirtieth percentile (1.091) earlier than his hitting streak started, whereas his opposite-field air SLG was already within the 87th percentile.

Anyway, Hernández most likely doesn’t have to fret about platooning any longer, although his protection in left area stays shaky sufficient (-7 DRS, -6 FRV) that down the stretch he might lose some late-innings enjoying time to a more proficient fielder, significantly in October.

As for Ohtani, the Dodgers lastly despatched him to the IL for the primary time since September 2023 (when he was nonetheless an Angel) after Wednesday night time’s win, the group’s seventh in a row. In his solely sport since September 2, he went 0-for-3 with a stroll and two strikeouts in opposition to the Reds on Monday night time, with an 89.2-mph routine fly ball to left area his solely batted ball occasion. The Dodgers meant to ease him again into the lineup, retaining him out on Tuesday however enjoying him on Wednesday, although when Ohtani informed them that swinging had induced him extra discomfort in his biceps, they scrapped that plan and as a substitute positioned him on the IL, one thing the Dodgers had been reluctant to do as a result of the minimal keep for two-way gamers is 15 days, as for pitchers.

The transfer does give the Dodgers an opportunity to take a look at De Paula, a lefty-swinging 21-year-old who tops their prospect record and is at the moment no. 17 on The Board as a 55-FV prospect. De Paula hit .303/.401/.547 (145 wRC+) with 27 homers, 31 steals, and only a 14.8% strikeout price at Double-A Tulsa. He’s the primary place participant prospect the Dodgers have promoted straight from Double-A since Andrew Friedman took over as president of baseball operations in October 2014. In our late-July Pre-Deadline Prime 100 Prospects Replace, Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski wrote, “De Paula has been an upper-echelon prospect on this system since 2023, and continues to trace as an influence, heart-of-the-order bat with plus contact and on-base expertise, in addition to common current energy that might nonetheless enhance. He’s additionally a nasty defender who’s going to cede some general worth due to this.”

The Dodgers and MLB Pipeline each contemplate De Paula essentially the most superior younger hitter the group has developed since Corey Seager, with the latter calling him “a barely smaller however extra athletic model of Yordan Alvarez, because of his precocious mixture of swing choices and exit velocities.” Baseball America’s JJ Cooper famous that De Paula’s hitting profile at Tulsa intently resembles the 2025 profile of the Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle, the possible AL Rookie of the 12 months.

Cooper added that the lefty-swinging McGonigle was just a few months youthful, higher in opposition to lefties than righties, and naturally performs the tougher place, however his take-home level was sturdy: “You very hardly ever see that form of well-rounded profile combining excessive contact capability, wonderful plate self-discipline and actual energy… In case you are in search of the hitter within the minors this 12 months who’s closest to McGonigle in combining comparable strengths and lack of weaknesses, it’s De Paula.”

With Ohtani out, the Dodgers can get a take a look at De Paula with out worrying about his protection, which he has labored to enhance. A full-time position for October isn’t on the desk barring an damage to an everyday, however De Paula might fill the high-leverage bench-bat position the group had envisioned for Dashing even when he couldn’t catch — say, pinch-hitting for Miguel Rojas in a key spot.

Thanks largely to Hernández, the Dodgers have weathered some key accidents and distanced themselves from a stretch of mediocrity throughout which they went 15-19 and briefly misplaced their maintain on a top-two seeding. Enjoying a Wild Card Sequence labored out high quality for them final 12 months as they swept the Reds, however any group with championship aspirations would simply as quickly keep away from the additional spherical. Hernández received’t proceed hitting above .500 with a 97-mph exit velocity, but when he can present the Dodgers with one other weapon and assist them preserve their maintain on a bye, their odds of three-peating are that a lot better.