American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report name Lake Country DockHounds infielder Ryan Hernandez as American Association Player of the Week for Week 14 of the 2024 season.

DockHounds 1B Ryan Hernandez Named Player of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report Lake Country DockHounds infielder Ryan Hernandez as the Player of the Week for Week 14 of the 2024 season. This is the second time he has received the honor this season.

The DockHounds squared off against the Sioux Falls Canaries and Hernandez was blistering hot, gong 7-13 in the series with five homers and eight RBI. He opened with a 3-4 performance, homering twice, scoring twice, and driving in five. In the second game, the slugger hit two solo home runs as part of a three-hit performance. He then added a solo homer in the final game of the series.

Lake Country traveled to Winnipeg to take on the Goldeyes next, and Hernandez appeared in just the first two games of the series, going 1-7 over all with two runs scored, a double, and two RBI. After going 0-4 with a walk in the opener, the DockHounds slugger went 1-3 with two runs scored, a double, and two RBI.

For the week Ryan Hernandez finished 8-20 (.400). He was tied the league lead in homers (5) and second in RBI (10). Hernandez was first in slugging percentage (1.200) and third in OPS (1.750).

Ryan Hernandez joined the Cleburne Railroaders in 2023 after graduating from the University of Houston. In college, he hit .297 with 30 homers and 107 RBI in 126 games. Hernandez got off to a fast start with the Railroaders, hitting five home runs in the first two weeks, drawing the attention of the Los Angeles Angels, who signed the slugger. The first baseman was assigned to High-A Tri-City where he was given a limited opportunity, hitting .154 with a homer and seven RBI in 17 games. He was later released, choosing to return to Cleburne where he finished with a .303 batting average with seven home runs and 35 RBI in 41 games.

In the off-season, Hernandez was traded to the DockHounds, and he has become one of the most feared hitters in the American Association. Hernandez leads the league in home runs (27) and RBI (83). He is hitting .309 and is first in total bases (191), and is second in slugging percentage (.635) and extra base hits (44).

Hernandez has earned the Player of the Week honors before, earning the award in Week 9. Two other DockHounds have been named Player of the Week, with Josh Altmann selected in Week 6 and Curtis Terry in Week 13.

2024 American Association Players of the Week

Week 1 – Narciso Crook, Chicago Dogs
Week 2 – Blake Rutherford, Kansas City Monarchs
Week 3 – Jaxx Groshans, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 4 – Max Murphy, Winnipeg Goldeyes
Week 5 – Brian O’Grady, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 6 – Josh Altmann, Lake Country DockHounds
Week 7 – Cornelius Randolph, Kane County Cougars
Week 8 – Hill Alexander, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 9 – Ryan Hernandez, Lake Country DockHounds
Week 10 – Josh Rehwaldt, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 11 – Alex Baeza, Lincoln Saltdogs
Week 12 – Shed Long, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 13 – Curtis Terry, Lake Country DockHounds

By Robert Pannier