“We strike out almost 12 to 13 guys per nine innings,” GM and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo told reporters about one of the two players Washington acquired from Chicago on a loan contract. “We acquired a 22-year-old left-handed pitcher who will do well.” Nationals third baseman Jeimer Candelario in 2023 cubs.
“Now that he’s 22 years old in Double-A, we like the escalation. His name is Hertz.”
Of course it’s DJ Hearts. David John Hertz. An eighth-round pick by the Cubs in 2019, he made his professional debut late in the year he was drafted out of high school, starting six games, and then 2020 happened. He pitched in Class A and High-A during the 2021 season, was promoted from High-A to Double-A in 2022, and returned there in 2023 when the trade took place.
“I think his successor is well on his way.” Rizzo told reporters. When Hertz spoke after the deadline, he was already pitching in Double-A.
“We look at him as a three-pitch starting pitcher. He’s got an outpitch right now with that changeup. He’s struck out a lot of guys at a level that’s tough for a 22-year-old. Our scouts The picture he portrayed on the mound was one of being aggressive, throwing strikes, and attacking batters. Those are all words I want to hear when describing a pitcher.”
Hurts, now 23 years old (24 as of Jan. 4), came to the Nationals along with Kevin Maid (SS) in exchange for Candelario, pitched at Double-A Harrisburg in late 2023, and was a Triple-A player last season. Started at Rochester for the A’s, then called early and hung around in the majors for a total of 19 starts (4.16 ERA, 3.71 FIP in 88 2⁄3 IP, 36 walks allowed (3.65 BB/9), 106 strikeouts (10.76 K/9), batting average of .224/.303/.359).
“It’s been a good season. We learned a lot,” Hertz said after his penultimate start.
“I’m proud that we got through this first crisis,” he added. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASN Towards the end of the 2024 season:
“I’m really happy. I’m just grateful to be able to get through the season healthy and have another full season.”
His manager said he was overall happy with what he got from Hertz, but pointed out that there are clearly areas he needs to focus on improving going forward at the moment.
“The big thing for me is that he’s not afraid to attack the strike zone,” Martinez said, emphasizing his message of tenacity when talking about pitching.
“He’s really in the zone quite a bit. His tendency is to get behind if he doesn’t throw the ball in the zone, and that’s when he’s in trouble, the walks put him in trouble, but he When he’s up front, he’s throwing strikes, he’s around the plate, he’s able to get outs early and be efficient.”
As noted in the Nationals’ season-in review, Hurts, a debuting forward, ranked second among rookies with 10.76 strikeouts per “…9.0 IP (minimum 85.0 IP)”.
Hurts “…ranked third among MLB rookies (minimum 80.0 IP) in strikeout rate (27.7%),” and he was “…the third rookie in Nationals history to record at least 100 SO in a season. It was.”
In his past six starts, Hertz has held opposing batters to a combined average of .170 (17-for-100).
“He’s really starting to understand that number one is that he can throw here,” Martinez said. He’s proactive, he’s proactive, he’s looking for early swings and some whiffs, but that’s what he does when he’s at the plate. He uses his fastball a lot and then goes back to his changeup, but both pitches are effective. ”
Hertz threw his fastball 54.2% of the time in the majors last season, mixing in a changeup (24.5%, .224 BAA) and a slider (17.9%, .229 BAA), forcing opposing batters onto the pitch for a total average of .222. I kept it to . ), knuckle curve (3.3%; 0.200 BAA).
