Baltimore Orioles Former Prospect Off to Hot Start with A's

He didn't fare well in Baltimore last time he visited, but is hoping for better results this weekend

Aug 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Athletics third base Darell Hernaiz (2) celebrates after hitting a two run home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

There aren't a ton of open roster spots on the Athletics these days, with the emergence of rookie Nick Kurtz at first base pushing Tyler Soderstrom to left field, and fellow rookie Jacob Wilson being voted into the All-Star Game as the AL's starting shortstop. Yet, with recent injuries on the roster, former Baltimore Orioles prospect Darell Hernaiz is seizing his opportunity.

Hernaiz was acquired from the Orioles back in January of 2023 in exchange for Cole Irvin, and a year later the natural shortstop made the A's Opening Day roster. He made it into a total of 48 games with the A's last season, and batted .192 with a .261 OBP.

He struggled in his initial stint with the club, but as he was beginning to hit the ball a little better, he landed on the IL and would miss a couple of months with a left ankle injury.

He'd return in August, but by that time Wilson had made his debut, and while he was on the IL himself, the position was now considered his.

So in 2025, Hernaiz, still just 24, has been working on his craft in Triple-A Las Vegas. After plugging away and hitting .305 with a .383 on-base across 96 games in the minors, Hernaiz was called up to the big leagues at the end of July, and he's been showing everyone what he's been working on.

Through eight games, Hernaiz is 9-for-28 (.321) with a .375 OBP and has already notched a pair of home runs after totaling one across 120 at-bats last season. Three of his nine hits have been for extra bases (two homers and a triple), which is one shy of the extra-base hits he had last season, going 23-for-120.

The most striking stat to throw out, however, is that he has yet to strike out in eight games while drawing three walks. He's also having this success while his BABIP is just .208, which means that there could be some room to grow with just a little luck.

While his stats in the minors were down year-over-year (.331 average in 2024 compared to .305 this season), he's made strides in his walk rate (7.6% to 10.3%) and his strikeout rate (14% to 11.5%). Those gains are more of what we're seeing at the big league level.

Last year when the A's visited Baltimore, Hernaiz went just 1-for-9 with two walks, two strikeouts, and a run scored. He's hoping to improve upon that performance a little bit this time around. He also won't be the only player facing his former team this weekend, as new Oriole Ryan Noda will be taking on his former team for the first time.

The question that the A's are facing is what they do with Hernaiz if he keeps performing like this? Wilson is slotted in at shortstop when healthy, and Max Muncy has been playing a solid third base (also when healthy) too.

They could slide him over to second, but then what happens to Zack Gelof, who is currently in Triple-A trying to figure things out? This is what they like to call "a good problem to have" and likely won't need to be addressed until at least the offseason.