Former Met Prospect: Gaby Hernandez

Over at Baseball Prospectus, They recently wrote an article about the Marlins top prospects. I found it interesting to see Gaby Hernandez listed as a 3-star prospect. I've heard that he was a really good prospect so I expected a 3 or 4 star rating. Heres what they had to say about Hernandez...

5. Gaby Hernandez, RHP
DOB: 5/21/86
Height/Weight: 6-3/215
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted: 3^rd round, 2004, Belen Jesuit HS (FL)
2007 Stats: 4.22 ERA at Double-A (153.2-144-56-113)

Year In Review: The former Mets prospect continued his one-level-at-a-time progression with a solid but unspectacular showing at Double-A.

The Good: Hernandez has average velocity, but he can dial it up to 95 at times, and his fastball has excellent life. His power curve ball is his best offering and a true out pitch at times. He's big, athletic, and durable, with no history of arm problems and easy mechanics.

The Bad: Hernandez's inconsistency is both baffling and incredibly frustrating, as he can look big league-ready in one start, and then got rocked in the next. He needs to improve his change up to make him more effective against left-handers, and he tends to make bad innings worse by getting into funks where he overthrows and loses command.

Fun Fact: Hernandez's ERA jumped from 3.54 to 4.22 in his final two starts of the year, as he gave up 16 runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Perfect World Projection: A rotation workhorse.

Timetable: Hernandez will get the difficult assignment of pitching in the high-octane environment of Triple-A Albuquerque in 2008, but should make his big-league debut at some point during the season.

For those of you who don't know, Gaby Hernandez was traded for C Paul Lo Duca in November of 2005. It will be interesting to see how he develops and if he can take the challenge of the next level of the minor leagues... AAA baseball.

Here is the link to the original report of the trade from MSNBC.