EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Former Americas High School baseball standout Darell Hernaiz is on the move for the first time in his professional baseball career.
Hernaiz, a 21-year-old infield prospect, was traded from the Baltimore Orioles organization to the Oakland Athletics organization on Thursday, in exchange for pitchers Cole Irvin and Kyle Virbitsky.
Rated as the Orioles’ 16th-best prospect at the end of the 2022 season, Hernaiz hit .273 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI in 2022, playing in Class A, High A and Double A in Baltimore’s organization.
Hernaiz can play both shortstop and second base and his versatility defensively, as well as his bat make him an intriguing prospect for a rebuilding Oakland team. It’s very possible that he could rise quickly up the A’s Minor League system if he plays well in 2023.
Hernaiz ended the 2022 season at Double-A, so it stands to reason that he could start the 2023 campaign there. Oakland’s Double-A affiliate is the Midland RockHounds, roughly four hours away from his hometown of El Paso.
If Hernaiz makes his way to Triple-A, Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate is the Las Vegas Aviators, which are in the Pacific Coast League with the El Paso Chihuahuas.
Drafted in the fifth round (138th overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft, Hernaiz elected to sign with the Orioles out of high school, rather than attend Texas Tech, where he had signed to play for the Red Raiders.
He had a breakout 2022 season in the Minors; at just 21 years old, Hernaiz’s best days are no doubt in front of him. He’ll report to A’s Spring Training in Mesa, Ariz., in February.
