Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Teoscar Hernandez received his first Silver Slugger award on Thursday night, after bashing 16 home runs and posting a .919 OPS in 50 games this season.
Congratulations to @TeoscarH on winning his first career #SilverSlugger Award! pic.twitter.com/lJKgBpXZ8Y
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 5, 2020
The 2020 season served as a breakout campaign for the 28-year-old Hernandez, who posted career-highs in OPS+ (146) and on-base percentage (.340). He also paced the Blue Jays in home runs, slugging percentage (.579) and OPS.
Hernandez was a trade deadline acquisition in 2017 (alongside Nori Aoki, in a move that sent Francisco Liriano to the Houston Astros) and posted slightly above-average numbers in his first two-plus years with Toronto: 19 home runs per season, a .786 OPS and a 109 OPS+.
This year, Hernandez caught fire, especially during a three-week stretch from mid-August through early-September, when he batted .347 with eight home runs over 21 games.
Silver Slugger award winners are determined via league-wide vote, in which the manager and three coaches from each team weighs in. They base their votes on a combination of offensive statistics including batting average, on-base percentage, runs, RBIs and slugging percentage, as well as the managers’ and coaches’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value.
The full list of Silver Slugger winners from both leagues are sorted by position below.
American League
Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
First Base: Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox
Second Base: DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees
Third Base: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
Shortstop: Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox
Left Field: Eloy Jimenez, Chicago White Sox
Centre Field: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
Right Field: Teoscar Hernandez, Toronto Blue Jays
Designated Hitter: Nelson Cruz, Minnesota Twins
National League
Catcher: Trevor d’Arnaud, Atlanta Braves
First Base: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
Second Base: Donovan Solano, San Francisco Giants
Third Base: Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
Shortstop: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
Left Field: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
Center Field: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
Right Field: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Designated Hitter: Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves
[relatedlinks]