Giants sign top international prospect, Venezuelan shortstop Luis Hernández originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — For a second straight year, the Giants started the international signing period by picking up the best position player available.
Venezuelan shortstop Luis Hernández signed on Thursday morning during a ceremony at the organization’s Felipe Alou Baseball Academy in the Dominican Republic. Hernández signed exactly one year after Josuar Gonzalez, who already is a top 100 prospect overall and is considered the organization’s second-best prospect.
Hernández will get a signing bonus of about $5 million, per sources, the second-biggest international bonus in franchise history. The Giants gave Lucius Fox $6 million in 2015 before restrictions were put in place, and Gonzalez signed for just under $3 million a year ago.
A right-handed hitter, Hernández is the No. 1 player on both the Baseball America and MLB Pipeline boards. He has long been connected to the Giants, who were on him early and had no doubts in recent months that Hernández would sign.
“He is so mature for his age as a player,” senior director of international scouting Joe Salermo said recently. “He can play short with plus skills, he’s a plus hitter, he’s going to have plus power. The only thing you can knock him for is he’s an average runner, but the way he controls the game is incredible for a younger kid.”
Hernández vaulted to the top of the class in part because of an eye-opening performance in a professional league in Venezuela last summer. Playing against some former big leaguers and pitchers who were a decade older than him, the teenager hit .346 and struck out just 11 times in 114 plate appearances.
Salermo visits Venezuela four or five times a year and the Giants have also had a good relationship with the Carlos Guillen Academy in Maracay, where Hernández trains. The longtime big league shortstop played on the Seattle Mariners with Randy Winn, who now runs the Giants’ player development department.
“Our evaluators [in Venezuela] did a really good job of identifying the player and feeling comfortable with the player,” Salermo said.
The Giants came away impressed not just with Hernández’s physical skills, but also his makeup. Because he’s so advanced at the plate, it’s possible that he will skip the Dominican Summer League and go straight to Arizona this summer to begin his professional career.
The Hernández signing will continue to add to a farm system that is on the rise. In addition to Gonzalez and Hernández, the Giants will add the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft this July after getting lucky in December’s lottery. Now that he’s officially a Giant, Hernández joins one of the best groups of young middle infielders in the minors.
Scouts also are high on Jhonny Level, signed out of Venezuela in 2024. In the first round of last year’s draft, the Giants took Tennessee infielder Gavin Kilen. When Bryce Eldridge graduates from prospect lists this summer, it’s possible that the organization’s top four prospects will be middle infielders, including three teenagers.
The two likely leading the way — Gonzalez and Hernández — come with similar rankings but bring different traits. Gonzalez draws Francisco Lindor comps and is a more athletic and flashier player with what is considered a higher ceiling. Hernández, the Giants believe, has a significantly higher floor. There’s no certainty when dealing with 17-year-olds, but Hernández is considered about as safe a bet as it gets for a player his age.
“It’s amazing how these two guys are totally different, but we feel that they can both play a premium position,” Salermo said. “We’re excited to see it.”
