Jeremy Hermida, OF, Florida Marlins

January 26, 2006 @ 14:29:34

By Nicholas Minnix
Edited by KFFL Staff

When the Florida Marlins began their fire sale in mid-November, they ended up dumping every recognizable name associated with the club save 3B/OF Miguel Cabrera and SP Dontrelle Willis.

The organization let free agents walk (i.e., OF Juan Encarnacion) and traded away aging or arbitration-eligible players (i.e., 3B Mike Lowell, OF Juan Pierre). But they also acquired innumerable prospects in exchange for their offerings. In addition, they knew they had some pretty talented ballplayers down on the farm. The result is a roster that could compete for the league title – that is, the Pacific Coast League title, where Florida's Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, ply their trade.

The Marlins could field as many as six rookies in their opening day lineup, the most notable of which is OF Jeremy Hermida. Hermida, according to Baseball America (BA), has been the club's top prospect for the past three years so his ascension was inevitable. Unfortunately, he'll have to live his major league dream in a minor league setting.

Hermida's father tutored him at an early age. Hermida switched to a left-handed swing at age four and was handling wooden bats by age 13. As a teen, Hermida received additional instruction from Terry Harper, a former major leaguer, amongst others.

In 2002 the Marlins drafted Hermida, a high school star from the Atlanta area, with the 11th overall selection. That year, BA had dubbed him the best pure hitter in prep school and scouts likened him to Oakland Athletics 3B Eric Chavez as well as former big league outfielders Paul O'Neill and Andy Van Slyke.

Hermida began his professional career as a slim 18-year-old with the ability to hit to all fields and, what scouts still notice about him most, a good understanding of the strike zone. An ankle injury affected him during his inaugural season, but he was still able to put in some time in the Rookie Gulf Coast League and with Class A Jamestown. In '03, with Class A Greensboro, Hermida showed real potential when hit .284 with 28 SBs, 80 walks and 100 strikeouts, but with only six homers, he was lacking in the power department. He also endured a heel problem and spent the entire '04 season at advanced Class A Jupiter, where he dealt with a pulled hamstring that limited him to 91 games. Hermida still managed to hit .294 with 10 steals and bumped his home run total up to 10. His BB/K ratio took a bit of a hit, however.

In 2005, Double-A Carolina became the launching pad for Hermida's breakout season. The 6-4, 200-pounder had been steadily maturing physically, and that coupled with the tutelage of Mudcats hitting coach Steve Phillips and roving instructor John Mallee enabled Hermida to find his power stroke and develop his patience. He slugged 18 homers and drove in 63 in addition to swiping 23 bags. Despite his budding power, his patience actually increased - Hermida walked more than he struck out for the first time in his career.

Table: Jeremy Hermida Statistics as a Professional

YEAR	TEAM	LEVEL	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG
2002	GCL Marlins	Rookie	38	134	15	30	0	14	5	15	25	.224	.316	.321
2002	Jamestown	Class A	13	47	8	15	0	7	1	7	10	.319	.407	.404
2003	Greensboro	Class A	133	468	73	133	6	49	28	80	100	.284	.387	.393
2003	Albuquerque	Triple-A	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
2004	Jupiter	Class A	91	340	53	101	10	50	10	42	73	.297	.377	.441
2005	Carolina	Double-A	118	386	77	113	18	63	23	111	89	.293	.457	.518
2005	Florida Marlins	MLB	23	41	9	12	4	11	2	6	12	.293	.383	.634

Last year Hermida played for the U.S. squad in the 2005 Futures Game and was MVP of the Southern League All-Star game. His season culminated with a call-up and his Aug. 31 big league debut. In Hermida's first major league at-bat he hit a pinch-hit grand slam off of St. Louis Cardinals RP Al Reyes in a 10-5 loss. He went on to collect 12 hits, including four homers, in 41 at-bats.  He also stole two bases.

While 2005 was the bright spot in a career that seems sure to have many, this season may not be one of them. Florida has essentially handed the soon-to-be 22-year-old Hermida the job in right field, but, as mentioned, he'll be playing with a host of players with little or no big league experience. They include SS Hanley Ramirez, another highly regarded prospect who arrived in a trade from the Boston Red Sox; 1B Mike Jacobs, who came by way of the New York Mets and made a big splash last year by smacking 11 long balls in 100 at-bats for his former club; and C Josh Willingham, a talented hitter who may not have the defensive skills to handle the job behind the plate. They also include several ballplayers who might otherwise still be farmhands.

Florida did bring in some veteran free agent position players, but most of them are borderline major leaguers. Among them is 2B/SS Pokey Reese, a career .248 hitter and the likely starter at second who last year didn't play a game in the bigs because of a shoulder injury. C Miguel Olivo, a career .229 hitter, will be competing for the starting backstop spot. 1B/3B Wes Helms, another player who has never quite lived up to his potential, is the likely backup for the corner infield spots and a lifetime .257 hitter.

The aforementioned Cabrera batted .323 with 33 HRs and 116 last year, but he'll be hard-pressed to duplicate those numbers with a lineup full of youngsters. Colorado Rockies 1B Todd Helton struggled through the first half of the 2005 season, hitting .288 (well, struggled for him) with 10 homers in 85 games on a team littered with Triple-A talent. He did rebound, however, to put together a monstrous second half (.367 BA and 10 HRs in 59 games). It'll be interesting to see if the 22-year-old Cabrera has the maturity to cope with the adversity and develop his clubhouse presence. In addition, Willis, last year's runner-up for the Cy Young award, may find it difficult to repeat his 22 wins. In 2005, Florida finished eighth in the National League in runs, at 4.4 per game - an amount that will be a lot to ask of such a green group.

Hermida is a five-tool talent who works hard and has developed many aspects of his game. It's a shame that circumstances may spoil what is likely his first full season in the majors. Injuries also remain a concern because they have troubled him in the past. Hermida has the ability and makeup to overcome his potential difficulties, however, and he'll enter the season as a strong candidate for NL Rookie of the Year. With the probable lack of offensive firepower in Miami, it's hard to project Hermida beyond a .280 average with 15 to 20 home runs and 15 to 20 steals. Even those numbers are generous, but they could be enough to bring home some hardware.

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Nicholas Minnix

KFFL's baseball editor plays in LABR and Tout Wars and won the FSWA Baseball Industry Insiders League in 2010.

The University of Delaware alum is a regular guest on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and Baltimore's WNST AM 1570. Follow him on Twitter.

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