Ben Hernandez

If changeups are your thing, Ben Hernandez is your guy. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Illinois-Chicago commit is routinely recognized as having the best changeup in the high school class, a likely future plus offering that has long been his biggest weapon. While Hernandez never got to throw for his high school team this spring due to the novel coronavirus, scouts did see him in February at Prep Baseball Report’s Super 60 showcase, where he touched 95 mph. That’s a tick higher than the 90-94 he showed last summer. Scouts are still waiting for Hernandez to develop a reliable breaking ball. He has thrown a mid-70s curveball that has big depth and some solid spin, but the pitch lacks power and his arm slows down. Hernandez is an advanced pitcher with good feel to spot his fastball and changeup, and those pitches come out of his hand with ease and good life. He has a clean arm action and delivery that allows him to reach the mid-90s easier than most other prep pitchers. Hernandez is old for the class, turning 19 in July, but his polished overall package and two above-average or better pitches have him in position to off the board in the third or fourth round for most teams.