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Dodgers 2016 Player Review: Kiké Hernandez

Jeff Spiegel
4 Min Read
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

After coming over from the Miami Marlins as part of the Dee Gordon trade, utility man Kiké Hernandez quickly became a fan favorite while appearing in 76 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015.

Whether it was the rally banana costume or his high-energy antics, Hernandez (just 24 years old at the time) seemed to be someone you’d be seeing a lot of as time went on. Beyond the uplifting spirit Hernandez brought, he hit .307/.346/.490 with a 131 OPS+.

Unfortunately for Hernandez and the Dodgers, this season was a disappointment in every way imaginable. Over 109 games, he hit a lowly .190/.283/.324 with just seven home runs.

To make matters worse, the timing was as bad as it could have been — without Scott Van Slyke and Trayce Thompson, the Dodgers were desperately in need of an outfield bat that could hit lefties.

But when called upon, Hernandez couldn’t do the job, in a drastic turnaround from last season. It’s plausible the drop in production was due to a ribcage injury Hernandez attempted to play through.

He ultimately was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 29 and didn’t return until July 31. Hernandez was left off the Dodgers roster for the National League Division Series, but was added for the NL Championship Series.

He appeared in all six NLCS games, making two starts, but going hitless in 11 plate appearances with three walks and two strikeouts.

2016 Highlight

On June 19 the Dodgers faced off against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium and entered the eighth inning trailing 1-0 after Matt Garza shut them down before giving way to the bullpen.

In the eighth, Hernandez pinch-hit with one out and nobody on, and on a 2-1 count, clubbed a game-tying home run. To top it all off for Hernandez, the home run came against soon-to-be-San-Francisco-Giants-reliever Will Smith.

The Dodgers went on to win the game in the bottom of the ninth when Tyler Thornburg walked Howie Kendrick to load the bases and then walked Yasmani Grandal for a walk-off walk.

2017 Outlook

Despite the disappointing season, Hernandez is still just 25 years old and offers a skill (theoretically) that the Dodgers desperately need: hitting left-handers. It also helps that he plays second base (a position currently vacant) as well as all over the outfield.

Hernandez still has one more option, which offers some useful roster flexibility.

In an ideal world, Hernandez returns to his 2015 performance and becomes the lefty-masher the Dodgers desperately missed. If that’s the case, he’ll get regular time all over the field and be a massive contributor.

But if he plays closer to his 2016 level, expect Hernandez to spend more time than he’d prefer with Triple-A Oklahoma City while he tries to figure things out.

Jeff Spiegel was raised in California but currently resides in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he worked in sports before entering journalism full time — first as a Sports Reporter and then as the Associate Editor of a local newspaper. Online, he has been writing about both the Dodgers and Raiders since 2012 — having written for DodgersNation.com and SBNation.com prior to joining both DodgerBlue.com and RaidersNation.com. He left full-time journalism in 2012 to become a pastor. Jeff can be found on Twitter at @JeffSpiegel. Favorite Dodger I'm going past and present (sort of) on this one. Recently, I was a die hard Yasiel Puig guy. The energy he played with was amazing and the hope and expectation he brought every single night was captivating. Whether it was a rifle from the warning track to throw a guy out at second, an aggressive bat flip or licking his bat, I was here for ALL of the Yasiel Puig era. Past tense, I'd go with Eric Gagné. This wasn't so much about Gagné himself as it was the experience of cheering for him. Yes, he was on steroids — but the dude was unlike any pitcher I've ever seen — he was NASTY. I still stand by the claim that if I needed one out and my life depended on it, and could choose any pitcher from any era to get me that out, I'm taking roided up Gagné in a heartbeat. Favorite Dodger Moment A few jump to mind immediately. Being born in November of 1988, I missed the last World Series by weeks — which also meant I didn't get to see the Dodgers win a playoff game until I was nearly 16. They had made the playoffs in 1995 and 1996, but were swept both times. In 2004, though, I got to see them win behind a complete game shutout from Jose Lima, and that was pretty freaking special. The next in-person moment that came to mind was the Manny Ramirez bobblehead night pinch-hit grand slam from 2009. Vin Scully claimed it was the loudest he had heard Dodger Stadium in 20 years, and it's hard to disagree. As far as ones I didn't get to see live, I'll throw one more out there: the back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs that tied a game against the Padres in 2006 (plus the walk-off from Nomar Garciaparra in extra innings) was an all-timer. Obviously, the impending Dodgers World Series will quickly jump to the top of this list...