Round 25: Erick Fernandez, C, Georgetown University

(from Georgetown's Official Site)

Baseball-Reference                                                                                                                 FanGraphs
MiLB                                                                                                                               Georgetown Bio


2011 Stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
2011	22	Nationals	GULF	Rk	WSN	28	109	102	12	25	4	0	1	11	1	0	5	11	.245	.284	.314	.598	32	2	1	0	1	0
1 Season						28	109	102	12	25	4	0	1	11	1	0	5	11	.245	.284	.314	.598	32	2	1	0	1	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/16/2012.

Sean's one sentence analysis:
Fernandez is an exciting pick on many levels; the slick-fielding catcher hit .325 in college and is a semi-local product (from Florida but played at Georgetown).

Thoughts from the community:
"Fernandez is the classic good-hands-bad-range IF that converted to catcher seamlessly from HS to college. Scouts have been high on his defense, but question whether he'll ever hit enough. His .245/.284/.314 line as a 22-y.o. at the GCL last summer backs up that contention, as does his 47% CS rate. Given the examples of Wilfri Pena and Jeremy Mayo, glove-first catchers tend to stick around in this organization, so look for him to get another summer in the GCL or Auburn in 2012." - Luke Erickson, Nationals Prospects (@nats_prospects)

"Erick Fernandez has long been a personal favorite of mine, as I have watched him closely over 4 years at Georgetown University. Erick began his career as a shortstop before shifting behind the plate after his freshman year, as his quick release, above-average arm and baseball acumen made him a natural backstop. Fernandez is a solid defender, with potential to improve with experience, and the question will be if he can hit his way to a major league backup catching job – my gut feeling is he can." - Ryan Sullivan, Nats GM (@natsgmdotcom)

Previous analysis and notes:
Nats.com roundup: The catcher consistently hit for average and finished his Georgetown career with a .325 mark."
From Andy Seiler, MLB Bonus Baby, 6/17/10: "Fernandez has been seen as a solid defensive catcher for some time, and he fits in nicely with the pick of Mayo, as they're more traditional defensive catchers in terms of size and strength."
Fun fact: Fernandez was smart enough to achieve a 4.4 GPA at Georgetown, but still dons the tools of ignorance. Fernandez hit .315/.385/.478 in 2011 at Georgetown with 16 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 14 BB and 21 K, throwing out 21 of 56 would-be base stealers (37.5%). More than just a token local kid getting picked in the middle rounds. The Nats drafted Fernandez in round 46 last year, as chronicled by The Washington Times.

Fernandez signed with the Nats on June 16, 2011.