It would seem that there isn't a head in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) that Hernandez hasn't turned his direction.
Now, add the fact that this guy is dominating batters at the tender age of 19, and you might say "Wow" yourself. Some have compared him to a young Doc Gooden. It's a bad comparison: Doc was never this good.
Still not impressed? Veteran pitchers tell us that Hernandez has a great high nineties fastball that has only become better as he's moved through the system. His high heat runs in the mid to upper nineties and should actually increase over the next year or two into the 97 mph range as his arm matures. He has a clocked 90mph slider and a high-eighties curve ball. The Mariners have to actually have him back off of the slider's speed to preserve his arm! He keeps the ball down with ease, but he can easily blow by hitters right in their sweet spots, a feat in the majors that was last witnessed with regularity back in the early years of Fernando Valenzuela.
Is it any wonder that he can level the competition at the Triple-A?
He shined in the MLB Futures game during the All-Star break. The Mariners pulled the plug on his second television appearance on ESPN-2 in which he would have been the star of the AAA All-Star game in Sacramento. He was nursing an 'injury,' yet he was back in his usual rotation for Tacoma. Who could really blame Seattle, though? If you had found King Kong in the jungle, would you want to let New York know that he's coming?
The Mariners' Emilio Carresquel found young Felix in baseball-mad Venezuela. They drafted him in 2002 at the tender age of 16. You almost had to. Once word came back of Emilio's find, it would not be long before the rest of the baseball world was at young Hernandez' door.
Usually we don't think too much of high-dollar signing bonuses, but in this case, the $710,000 that the Mariners spent looks like a great deal.
Hernandez was the youngest player in the Northwest League in 2003. Yet at age 17, he dominated the competition: He posted a 7-2 record with a 2.29 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched with the Everett AquaSox.
Playing for the Inland Empire 66ers in 2004, Hernandez committed hitter homicide with a massive 93 strikeouts and only 24 walks, in the batter-friendly High-A California League.
With the Tacoma Rainiers this season, he went 9-4 with an ERA of 2.25. That's not bad, until you also consider that he gave up only 3 home runs, had 100 strikeouts, and did it all in 88 innings pitched.
He's up with the Mariners as of August 4th, and we don't expect to see him back. He's 1-1 with 13 innings pitched, but he has a smokin 0.69 ERA with only 1 earned run and 10 strikeouts under his belt already. Mr. Hernandez has arrived.
Venezuelan airlines should consider direct flights to Seattle: The Mariners are taking good care of their phenom, including dissuading him from playing winter ball in Venezuela.
We'd post this hurricane George warning for Seattle fans: Enjoy him while you can. If he keeps playing this well in the land of rain and coffee, it's a dead-bang lock that the Boss or Mr. Henry will be opening up those check books and pulling out the fountain pens.
See also: FAB50 2004; Seattle Mariners Overview
