Hernández has already committed a league-leading five errors. That hasn't been the case since he moved to shortstop this season. Since his arrival in Boston in 2021, the Red Sox have been able to count on Kiké to provide elite defense at second base or center field, ensuring he delivers value even when his bat is slumping. His season won't turn around until he improves the quality of his plate appearances.Īs dismal as he has been at the plate, Hernández has been even more disappointing in the field. It's still early in the season so the sample size remains small, but Hernández simply isn't providing competitive at-bats. 133 XBA (expected batting average) still places him in the bottom one percent of the league. ![]() You could argue that his batting average shouldn't be quite as low as it is, but his. He ranks in the 12th percentile in average exit velocity and the 11th percentile in Hard Hit%, per Baseball Savant. When he does put the ball in play, Hernández isn't making quality contact. Hernández is in the 76th percentile in chase rate while producing a career-high 33.8 Whiff percentage. He's striking out at an alarming rate with a 30.2 K% that nearly doubles last year's 17.7%. 048 BABIP, Kiké's struggles can't be chalked up to bad luck on balls in play. Hernández will undoubtedly improve but he's done little to spark optimism that he's on the verge of a breakout.ĭespite an absurdly low. I need to be better.”Ī difficult stretch at the plate will weigh on a hitter at any point in the season but it must be a deflating feeling to have that abysmal batting average staring back at you from screens plastered around the ballpark. “When you go over a week without a hit, it’s going to be tough at any point of the year, no matter when it is,” Hernández said, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. 083 batting average is the worst in the majors among hitters with at least 30 plate appearances, per FanGraphs. Hernández is 3-for-36 to open the season and he's mired in an 0-for-27 slump. Red Sox shortstop Kiké Hernández is off to a rough start The veteran's production didn't simply stall, he never really got going this season. No player represents Boston's struggles more than Kiké Hernández. Boston clearly misses the threat of his bat but Duvall's absence doesn't full explain why most of the lineup has stopped hitting. The loss of Adam Duvall, who was carrying this offense while sitting at the top of the league in several offense categories when he fractured his wrist at the end of the series in Detroit, has created a void in the middle of the lineup. After bursting out of the gate with a historic series to open the season, Boston has scored two runs or fewer in four of their last seven games. The lineup has mustered a mere two runs through the first two games of their series in Tampa Bay. ![]() The Boston Red Sox offense has fallen into a miserable slump.
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