Ariel Hernandez took the mound on Monday night in Milwaukee in relief of Amir Garrett. The right hander was making his Major League debut, and was it ever a debut.
2.2 innings. No hits. No walks. Five strikeouts. Ariel Hernandez made the Brewers hitters look absolutely foolish. They swung through four fastballs. They swung through three more curveballs. Seven swings and misses is a solid number for a starting pitcher. The right hander had that many in less than three innings of relief in his debut.
As I wrote on Sunday when it was announced that the Reds had called up Ariel Hernandez, he’s got the best arm I have ever seen at the minor league level. It might be the best pure arm that I’ve ever seen. He’s legitimately got two pitches that rate out as 80’s on the scouting scale. If the scale went higher, his curveball would probably rate higher. He sits in the upper 90’s with his fastball and no scout I’ve ever talked to thinks that his fastball is his best offering. You saw why they feel that way on Monday night.
Ariel Hernandez threw his fastball as high as 100.9 MPH according to Brooks Baseball’s Pitch F/X tool. Six pitches were over 100 MPH on the night. It averaged 99.6 MPH. 75% of the fastballs went for strikes. The curveball worked 87-90 MPH. 60% of the curveballs went for strikes.
Things probably couldn’t have gone much better for the 24-year-old right hander. He needed 30 pitches to record eight outs against eight batters. He threw six pitches, 14 pitches and 10 pitches in the three innings that he appeared in. Strikes weren’t tough to come by. Swings-and-misses weren’t either.
Coming up from Double-A may mean he’s heading back to the minors when the team needs to next make a roster move. But, if he goes back and continues to throw strikes, Ariel Hernandez won’t be down for long.