Stats like batting average, on-base percentage and such don’t matter one bit in spring training. They don’t much matter in the extended spring training the Rangers call their 2021 season.

So, if Yonny Hernandez’s OPS isn’t great, and his OPS+ is just 76, ignore that. Here’s something to pay attention to, something that’s encouraging. And real.

In eleven major league games, 43 plate appearances, Hernandez has walked three times. He has struck out just twice. Most Rangers hitters strike out twice per at-bat. Hernandez is bucking that trend, big time. He’s a bona fide contact hitter. 

And he plays second. Well. Yesterday, he was on the receiving end of another Adolis Garcia outfield assist, making the perfect relay home to nail a Mariners runner at the plate.

It’s too early to anoint Hernandez the Rangers second baseman of the future. But, at a position that’s been a dead zone in Texas lineup since 2014, it’s hopeful.

With so many holes to fill, including four gaping holes in the infield, wouldn’t it be a real shot in the arm to fill one from within?

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TODAY’S GAME: