As many of you know already, over these next few days I will be profiling some of the international free agents that figure to have an impact on the MLB in the next year or so. These guys are some of the best international players from all sorts of different places that are thinking about making the jump to Major League Baseball. Some of these guys you may have heard of, and others maybe not. There will be many different types of players that I will be looking at, but they all have one thing in common, they are the best of the rest throughout the world. Today, I will be looking at Jose Fernandez. No, not that Jose Fernandez, a different one, a second basemen who also happens to be out of Cuba.
Jose Miguel Fernandez is a 25 year old, 5'10", 185 pound second baseman from Cuba. Even as a small guy, Fernandez is known as one of the best hitting prospects still in Cuba. He is a left handed hitter at the plate and he is commonly thought of as a top 5 international prospect. Fernandez is known for his hitting which includes his great ability to cover the plate. Fernandez is also thought to be a quality defensive second baseman and has the ability to play elsewhere around the diamond if need be. His first major showcase for MLB scouts was in the 2013 World Baseball Classic in which he performed spectacularly. In 21 at bats he had 11 hits, 3 XBH all doubles, a walk, and 7 runs scored. He also played quality defense, and put his name firmly onto international prospect boards. In a five game exhibition a little later in 2013 against US college players, he struggled a bit against the better college pitchers, but should be able to acclimate a bit better if he were to come over permanently.
Fernandez has been a very good player over his years in the Serie Nacional. He debuted in 2008 to a strong slash of .291/.343/.350. His best year came in 2010 when he was able to slash .346/.391/.469. In his next year, 2011, he regressed a little bit, but he rebounded well in 2012 with a slash of .317/.444/.453. I wasn't able to locate his stats for his most recent year in Cuba but there were some reports that he batted an astounding .393. If those were in fact true, his MLB stock, should he defect from Cuba, would skyrocket. Already one of Cuba's most consistent and productive hitters, Fernandez looks as if he could hit for a major league team right away. He seems to have a plus hit tool along with developing power potential judging from the rise in slugging percentage. Should he become available, he wouldn't have a problem finding a team to take a chance on him, as he could be an enviable plus hitting middle infielder. I view him as a future starting second baseman in the MLB with a floor of a quality utility man.
Jose Miguel Fernandez is a 25 year old, 5'10", 185 pound second baseman from Cuba. Even as a small guy, Fernandez is known as one of the best hitting prospects still in Cuba. He is a left handed hitter at the plate and he is commonly thought of as a top 5 international prospect. Fernandez is known for his hitting which includes his great ability to cover the plate. Fernandez is also thought to be a quality defensive second baseman and has the ability to play elsewhere around the diamond if need be. His first major showcase for MLB scouts was in the 2013 World Baseball Classic in which he performed spectacularly. In 21 at bats he had 11 hits, 3 XBH all doubles, a walk, and 7 runs scored. He also played quality defense, and put his name firmly onto international prospect boards. In a five game exhibition a little later in 2013 against US college players, he struggled a bit against the better college pitchers, but should be able to acclimate a bit better if he were to come over permanently.
Fernandez has been a very good player over his years in the Serie Nacional. He debuted in 2008 to a strong slash of .291/.343/.350. His best year came in 2010 when he was able to slash .346/.391/.469. In his next year, 2011, he regressed a little bit, but he rebounded well in 2012 with a slash of .317/.444/.453. I wasn't able to locate his stats for his most recent year in Cuba but there were some reports that he batted an astounding .393. If those were in fact true, his MLB stock, should he defect from Cuba, would skyrocket. Already one of Cuba's most consistent and productive hitters, Fernandez looks as if he could hit for a major league team right away. He seems to have a plus hit tool along with developing power potential judging from the rise in slugging percentage. Should he become available, he wouldn't have a problem finding a team to take a chance on him, as he could be an enviable plus hitting middle infielder. I view him as a future starting second baseman in the MLB with a floor of a quality utility man.