Houston Astros: Teoscar Hernandez, Everyday Center Fielder?

If you haven’t heard, the Houston Astros will be in the market for an outfielder or two.

This offseason presents the Houston Astros with more questions than answers for the outfield. Outside of George Springer, the center and left field jobs are up for grabs.

The question is now whether the team should look inward or outside of the organization for help.

Well, there could be at least one answer waiting in-house: Teoscar Hernandez.

The Dominican Republic native has been one of the Astros more talked about prospects in the last few years. Hernandez did have a rough 2015 season with the Corpus Christi Hooks when he slashed .219/.275/.362 in 121 games. However, his 2016 season was a reminder of what Hernandez is truly capable of as a player.

2016 statistics: 107 games (69 AA, 38 AAA), .307/.377/.459, 10 HR, 53 RBI

And Hernandez also has major league experience now as he appeared in 41 games for the Astros this season. So that’s a plus, right?

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Anyway, will the 23, soon to be 24, year-old outfielder actually have a shot to become the Astros Opening Day center fielder in 2017?

Yes, I deep down believe he does.

But why Hernandez?

It is no secret that the Astros lack of production from an outfielder that did not have the last name of Springer was quite glaring. Carlos Gomez, Colby Rasmus, Jake Marisnick, and Preston Tucker were expected to pick up the slack. However, they did not.

Tony Kemp, Alex Bregman, Yulieski Gurriel, and Marwin Gonzalez also took turns at various times in the outfield. Unfortunately, only Kemp projects to be an outfielder long-term with the Astros. While Bergman, Gurriel, and Gonzalez can play the outfield in a pinch, each are better off playing the infield. And only Kemp could legitimately play center field.

Enter Hernandez, who has played center field an overwhelming majority of the time in the minors. He also appeared in center field for the Astros fifteen times in this most recent season.

Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America back in August, Hernandez has the capability to not only play all three outfield positions, but also become “an above-average center fielder”.

"Defensively Hernandez can play all three outfield spots. His plus arm fits in right field and his speed and range make him an above-average center fielder."

The hope is that Hernandez can play a defense solid enough to not miss Marisnick and his highly capable defensive abilities while hitting at decent clip. You know, not hitting in the lower .200’s would be a start.

Next: Astros: Is Andrew McCutchen a possibility via trade?

Of course, the young outfielder only has roughly 26% of a full Major League season to his credit. There is no guarantee how he will pan out. But if he proves this upcoming spring that his recovered hitting ability is for real, how can the Astros not give him a shot?

**Statistics provided by Baseball-Reference**

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