A few days after a pair of moves netted the Brewers Wade Miley and Bryse Wilson, the team parted ways with Justin Topa by trading him to the Mariners. They acquired pitching prospect Joseph Hernandez in return. Hernandez was the 2022 California League Pitcher of The Year and is now the Brewers 27th ranked prospect.
On the mound, Hernandez has a filthy slider. He relies heavily on this pitch and it sweeps all the way across the zone. As a result, Hernandez generates a lot of swings and misses with his slider. It’s only fitting to say that Hernandez has “slide”” into the Brewers top 30 prospect list.
Joseph Hernandez has a filthy slider
— Tyler Koerth (@TylerKoerth) January 8, 2023
Aside from a slider, Hernandez throws a heater in the mid 90’s and a change up. His change up is still a work in progress, but if he can master the fastball and slider he has the potential to be a weapon in the Brewers bullpen.
On the flip side, as of last season Hernandez operated primarily as a starting pitcher. It is unclear what role the Brewers want him to continue to develop in, but one area he absolutely needs to address is control. In 2022 he issued 54 walks and hit 21 batters.
Hernandez should be a fun player for the Brewers to insert into their pitching lab. The right-handed pitcher throws from a low slot and could make great strides after working with the Brew Crews pitching staff and laboratory equipment.
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