MIAMI — Marlins outfielder Heriberto Hernández hit his 20th home run of the season Tuesday night, a leadoff shot in the sixth inning that made the 26-year-old just the third Miami outfielder to reach that mark since 2018 — and he did it after being demoted to Triple-A Jacksonville on April 27.
Hernández, who was recalled May 7, has posted an .840 OPS with 14 doubles and 20 homers in 299 plate appearances since his return. Before the demotion, he had managed a .474 OPS in 74 plate appearances to start the year.
“I knew if I worked hard and put myself into this goal, I could make it happen,” Hernández said via interpreter Luis Dorante. “Again, it was not exactly my goal [to hit] 20 home runs, but I trust myself in doing it.”
The turnaround traces to mechanical adjustments Hernández made with the club’s hitting coaches, focusing on pulling and elevating the ball. His pull air rate jumped from 12.2% before the demotion to 27.2% since his recall, while his air-ball rate climbed from 49% to 60.3%. He also arrived at Spring Training 12 pounds lighter after gaining muscle and shedding fat in the offseason.
“This is a version we’ve seen a lot of Bert,” manager McCullough said. “Outside of the first couple of weeks to start this season, where circumstances are different — it’s his first time making an Opening Day roster, somewhat wanting to kind of pick up where you left off, and he just didn’t seem as convicted in his at-bats, didn’t seem as aggressive as we’ve seen him. And since he’s come back, it’s been a much different story. He certainly is a real presence in the box.”
Hernández joins Kyle Stowers, who reached 20 homers in 2025, and Adam Duvall as the only Marlins outfielders to hit that threshold since 2018. He is also the fourth Marlin in as many seasons to reach 20 homers within his first 101 games, following Stowers, Jake Burger and Jorge Soler. Hernández made his Major League debut on May 30, 2025, and earned down-ballot recognition in National League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .266/.347/.438 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 87 games that season.
On a left-handed-heavy roster, Hernández’s bat has been particularly damaging against southpaws. He goes deep in 7.8% of his plate appearances against left-handers — the third-highest rate among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, trailing only Coby Mayo at 10.8% and Jo Adell at 8.0%. His 11 game-tying or go-ahead home runs lead the Marlins and rank tied for 28th in the Majors.
“Bert can hit, and one thing Bert can do is he can hit velocity, and he can hit in-zone spin, and he handles left-handers very well,” McCullough said. “This guy has some real whip and snap in his bat, and when you can hit velocity and you can handle mistake spin and elevate the ball to the pull side like Bert can, he has some real strengths and some things that lead to his ability to do damage.”
The Marlins wrapped up their current series Wednesday in Miami, with Hernández expected to remain a fixture in the middle of the lineup as the club pushes through the final weeks of the regular season.