Pedro Hernandez (minors06)
From BR Bullpen
Pedro Michel Hernandez
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 10", Weight 200 lb.
- Born April 12, 1989 in Barquisimeto, Lara Venezuela
[edit] Biographical Information
Pedro Hernandez is a left-handed pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization.
He was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the San Diego Padres out of Venezuela in 2007; the scout was Yfrain Linares. Hernandez spent his first two season, in 2007 and 2008, with the DSL Padres. He was 0-1, 2.02 in 9 games the first year, then an excellent 7-2, 1.42 in 14 games the second. He tied Eliecer Navarro for 11th in the pitching-friendly Dominican Summer League in ERA, tied for 8th in wins and had 74 strikeouts to a mere 6 walks in 63 1/3 innings.
His first experience of the U.S. minors came in 2009, when he started the season with the AZL Padres, where he was 4-0, 3.78 in 7 games, and then the Eugene Emeralds, where things did not go so well, as his 9.92 ERA in 6 games attests. He allowed a whopping .408 average for Eugene. In 2010, pitching for the Fort Wayne TinCaps in the Midwest League, he was 4-3, 4.04 in 29 games as a swingman. His control remained a strong point with 17 walks in 100 1/3 innings.
Hernandez showed real potential in 2011, going a combined 10-3, 3.49 in 28 games between three teams, reaching all the way to AAA. He started the season with the Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League, with a record of 5-0, 2.70 in 15 games, once again shuffling between the bullpen and the starting rotation. However, after he was promoted to the AA San Antonio Missions of the Texas League, he stuck to a starter role. He was 3-2, 3.48 in 9 games, and earned another promotion, this time to the Pacific Coast League and the Tucson Padres; he was 2-1 in 4 starts there, but in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, his ERA was 6.00 in 18 innings. He pitched a career-high 116 innings between the three teams, striking out 94 against 22 walks. Now a genuine prospect, he was traded to the White Sox on December 31st, joining teammate Simon Castro as the two youngsters headed to the Windy City in exchange for All-Star OF Carlos Quentin.
