An impact rookie’s long road to Rangers

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

“How’s his defense?” I asked Rangers manager Chris Woodward after 27-year-old outfielder Elier Hernandez got a surprise callup on July 14.

“He’s good,” Woodward started. "He’s good in the outfield. All the reports I got said he’s probably better in right field, but he can play all three. He’s like a mini version of Adolis [García] in a way. He can run, he’s got decent speed, he can track down balls.”

“He’s good” didn’t really tell the whole story.

In a matchup with the Mariners on Friday, just a day after his MLB debut at designated hitter and his first day in the field, Hernandez got a chance to show off his difference-making defensive abilities.

With two outs and the Rangers in a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fourth inning, Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez hit a dribbling liner into left field, scoring one immediately off the bat, Hernandez fielded the ball cleanly and came up firing toward home play, throwing himself off balance. But that didn’t matter. The throw was perfect, right into the glove of catcher Jonah Heim as Hernandez nabbed Justin Upton at the plate to end the inning.

“With that throw home, I mean, our guys down there [in Triple-A] said he's got a plus arm,” Woodward said after the game. “You saw it tonight. That was a big play, too, because that got us out of the inning, first of all, it saved a run and got [starting pitcher Taylor Hearn] out of it. They were getting some hits back to back there, and he gave us a chance to stay in it.”

Hernandez has quickly and surprisingly made an impact in his short week with the big league club. Hernandez was a career Minor Leaguer, first with the Royals and then with the Rangers after signing as a Minor League free agent in 2019.

The outfielder was part of a star-studded international signing class in 2011 that included Nomar Mazara and Ronald Guzmán, but he never quite reached his potential. This year, with Triple-A Round Rock, that all changed.

Hernandez made a slight adjustment to his batting stance and flew out to a blazing .295/.364/.546 (.910 OPS) slash line in 62 games with the Express.

After a long road, Hernandez cherished the opportunity to call his family to tell them he finally made it. And it was definitely worth the wait.

“My dad is the first person that helped me with everything, I just called him first,” Hernandez said. “They were crying and crying. It was pretty special to them. ... I was crying a little bit, too, yeah. Because that moment is pretty special.”

In four games since getting called up, Hernandez is 3-for-10 with an RBI. With the Rangers’ glaring need for a right-handed bench bat, Hernandez has the opportunity to stick around for the long haul.

“It’s all pretty special,” Hernandez said. “I mean, spending 10 years in the Minor Leagues, it's awesome to get here and be part of the team. I’m just thankful to be given the opportunity to be part of the team. I just want to be here and do my best and help the Texas Rangers win.”