Jack Herman

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2018
R:  340/435/489, 141 AB, 9 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 23 BB, 24 K, 2-4 SB

Herman had a strong debut, hitting for average and gap power, and controlling the strike zone well.  He split his time between center and right, and had no errors.

2019
A:  257/340/464, 265 AB, 12 2B, 2 3B, 13 HR, 28 BB, 88 K, 6-12 SB

Due to an injury, Herman stayed in extended spring training until the beginning of June, then went to Greensboro.  With other center fielders present at different times, he divided his time evenly between the corners.  He had 11 outfield assists in roughly half a season.  Herman made an effort to get stronger in the off-season and it showed in a good ISO of .207.  He may have been helped quite a bit, though, by the hitter’s park at Greensboro; he had nine HRs and a .563 SLG at home and four HRs and a .374 SLG on the road.  He had only a slight platoon split.  Strikeouts were obviously the main cost of the increased power, as his K rate roughly doubled from the previous year and his walk rate dropped.

2020
DNP

2021
R:  360/448/720, 25 AB, 3 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 7 K
A:  253/325/493, 217 AB, 11 2B, 1 3B, 13 HR, 23 BB, 70 K, 2-3 SB
A+:  115/148/173, 52 AB, 3 2B, 2 BB, 26 K, 1-2 SB

The Pirates sent Herman initially to Greensboro and it didn’t go well at all.  He spent a month struggling mightily to make contact, then the Pirates sent him to the FCL for a little.  In mid-July he went to Bradenton for the balance of the season.  He hit for a lot of power there; his slugging average would have been third in the league had he qualified and he finished seventh in the league in home runs despite playing less than half the season.  He also struck out a lot.  In the field, Herman played mostly in left.

2022
A+:  230/304/320, 122 AB, 2 2B, 3 HR, 12 BB, 38 K, 1-2 SB

Herman returned to Greensboro, where he hit better than the year before but not well.  In mid-June, he suffered a leg injury when he ran into the outfield wall making an outstanding catch.  He wasn’t able to return all year.

High A has been a roadblock for Herman so far.  He should get another chance there in 2023, but not until well into the season as he started off on the 60-day injured list.