Dodgers fans complaining about Teoscar Hernandez just got served in NLWC Game 1

Teoscar Hernández closed out the regular season having put up some of the worst offensive numbers of his career, and made headlines in September for a few botched defensive plays that got him publicly called out by Dave Roberts. Some Los Angeles Dodgers fans went as far as to insist that LA wouldn't make it through October with Hernández in right field, or to say that his re-signing in the offseason was just as bad for the club as, say, Tanner Scott's signing.

Both of those criticisms were almost certainly overreactions (Hernández has never been an outstanding outfielder and the Dodgers still won the World Series with him, and no one's signing could've been worse than Scott's), but there was some truth at their cores — Hernández just didn't have the season that fans were expecting after his massive 2024.

But everything resets during the postseason, and Hernández made his presence in the Dodgers' lineup known almost immediately. He picked up a single in his first at-bat, and then powered a three-run homer to left field in his second, only to follow it up with a solo shot in his third.

His four RBI contributed to a 10-5 final and might've been the Dodgers' saving grace after what might've turned into an unforgivable bullpen disaster in the eighth.

Teoscar Hernández collects two home runs in Dodgers' blowout Wild Card victory over Reds

The Dodgers clearly put all of their money toward offense in the offseason, and while forsaking defense has cost them on occasion, it's mostly worked out for them. They signed both Hernández and Michael Conforto because of their bats with very little regard to their capabilities in the outfield (Hernández posted a -9 OAA in the outfield corners, Conforto a -8) — that clearly has not worked out with the latter, but Hernández is coming through when it matters.

There were some signs that a hot streak for Hernández was revving up at the tail end of the regular season. He hit .267/.780 in his last 15 games, .269/.845 in his last seven, but it would've been hard to predict that he would hit half of the homers he hit in all of September in a single postseason game.

If this is the sign of a huge October to come for Hernández, having to wait the entire year to see him get hot will have been worth the wait.

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