After losing arguably their best starter to injury, the Washington Nationals have promoted left-handed pitching prospect DJ Herz for his MLB debut. Washingon acquired the lefty last season in a midseason deal and Herz will get a look after a good, yet shaky 2024 campaign in Triple-A.
A Look at Herz
When the Nationals traded infielder Jeimer Candelario after a strong first half last season, Washington received two notable prospects back from the Cubs. One was Kevin Made, a fluid middle infielder who’s good at getting on base but with little power. The other piece was 23-year-old lefty DJ Herz.
Herz, an eighth-round pick by the Cubs in 2019, lit up the lower Minors in 2021 when he struck out 131 batters over 81.2 innings pitched between Low and High-A. Since then, he’s steadily risen through the ranks, all while yielding little quality contact. In each of his last four seasons, hitters have batted less than .200 off the lefty.
This season with Rochester (AAA), Herz struck out 42 over 36 innings with the Red Wings.
Herz owns a low-90s four-seamer with some pop to it, especially when he commands it up the zone. It’s the perfect complement to arguably his best pitch, a low-80s changeup with about a 10 MPH differential from the heat and one with fade and sink. Given that, it’s not a shock to see Herz have better numbers against right-handers (.170 AVG) than lefties (.208 AVG) this season.
Additionally, Herz will operate with a mid-80s cutter and high-70s slider.
Walks, however, have been the big issue with Herz, and the main reason why the 23-year-old isn’t higher up on prospect lists. Herz walked 29 this past season with Rochester and as many as 70 over 95.1 innings two years ago. The lefty said after the Arizona Fall League last season that he needs to be less crossfire with his delivery.
With Trevor Williams on the IL, DJ Herz was called up on June 4 and will make his Nationals and MLB debuts on the same day. He’ll be one of several prospects to debut on the 4th, as Adam Mazur will start for the Padres, as well.
Analysis
Herz may ultimately wind up as a reliever, even though there have been examples of pitchers, albeit few, of pitchers with below-average command working as starters. The Nationals will give him a chance to be one at the MLB level from the onset, although it will be interesting to see how more disciplined hitters in the Majors handle a lefty with fringe command.
Fantasy Outlook
Given the high walk rates Herz recorded in the Minors and the fact Washington isn’t among the league’s best, there’s simply too much risk with the 23-year-old at this moment. While he is someone to monitor in NL-only leagues, we don’t advise grabbing him yet.