How did the Royals get Carlos Hernandez?

The Kansas City Royals acquired Carlos Hernandez by signing him as an international free agent on July 19, 2016, for a $15,000 signing bonus.

Hernandez matured as he received more Major League experience. Hernandez looked to improve after being promoted from Omaha.

According to Fangraphs splits, Hernandez had a 3.23 ERA in 64 innings after the All-Star break, and his walk rate dropped from 15% in the first half to 10.1 percent in the second.

Carlos Hernandez was viewed as a future bullpen piece, despite his promise, especially after a strong debut season in 2020 in which he appeared in the Majors despite only having pitched in Low A prior to last year.

Hernandez entered 2021 as the Royals’ underappreciated mop-up pitcher, tasked with the unpleasant duty of coming in cold to gobble innings against hot offenses.

In 21.1 innings of bullpen work this season, he has a 5.09 ERA and a 1.6 K/BB ratio.

Hernandez, on the other hand, improved month after month, forcing manager Mike Matheny to give him a start against the Baltimore Orioles.

His first two starts did not go as anticipated, as he was roughed up by the Orioles and the Tigers, similar to his early-season bullpen efforts.

Hernandez only lasted 6.2 innings, giving up seven runs. He figured things out after that, it’s reasonable to say. These are his numbers over his last five starts