LSU adds Indiana State transfer C/1B Luis Hernandez

Leverage move for draft

What position you think he Plays at lsu?

Dh or 1b if jones doesn't come back?

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He's not high on any pre draft lists.

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Realistically, all this means is that he's not a good defensive catcher and won't be able to catch at the next level. That typically leaves 1B as the other option, and it's incredibly difficult for a 1B to be viewed as a high-end pro prospect.


For one, 1B is the easiest defensive position, which means that the population of players capable of playing it is larger and includes all the big huge paul-bunyan types who are elite hitters but are too slow to play anywhere else on defense. For two, 1B is also the least valuable defensive position--so even if you're a great defensive 1B, you're not producing all that much defensive value. Those two things ultimately mean that 1B has a higher offensive bar than any other position.


Basically, you have to be a very good hitter to even become a low-end MLB 1B; even if you're one of the very best hitters in college baseball, there's a pretty good chance that you'll fail to clear that bar offensively. That means that a team has to REALLY like a guy as a hitter in order to draft him highly as a 1B-only player. Take Jared Jones, for example: He had better numbers in the SEC this year than Hernandez had against small-conference competition, plus he has legitimately elite raw power (which I doubt Hernandez can match), which gives him a higher ceiling, and even he isn't in all that serious of consideration to go in the top 50 of the draft.


Another, related thing that knocks Hernandez here is that he really doesn't take walks at all. Given where the offensive bar is for 1B-only guys, it's almost impossible for a guy like that to get taken high if he also doesn't walk at at least an average rate. If you're 1B only AND you don't take walks, that means that you basically have to hit your best-case outcome in every other facet of hitting in order to even have a chance to make the majors. For obvious reasons, that's not a guy you want to draft with a high pick.


In any event, none of this means that a 1B-only guy can't be massively valuable to a college lineup. The issue, really, is just with projection to the next level. And even beyond the hitting ability, Hernandez is also a big pickup for the fact that he can presumably catch on the days when Neal is resting.