Peyton Bonds<\/a>, the nephew of Barry Bonds, scored the winning run, scrambling home when an errant pitch skidded to the backstop. Amid the chaos of celebration, one teenage shortstop sought out another.<\/p>\nAs the Giants retreated to their dugout, Josuar Gonzalez put his arm around Luis Hernandez, content to bask in the euphoria of victory. Gonzalez and Hernandez are confident that bigger stages await, their final destination being only a stone\u2019s throw away to the north. They\u2019re two of the sport\u2019s highest-rated prospects, the types of talents that have not passed through this organization in quite some time. Their future is unwritten; the hype is palpable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese two kids bring a lot of excitement to the organization,\u201d said Joe Salermo, the Giants\u2019 senior director of international scouting. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a Low-A game be televised on NBC [Sports Bay Area]. That shows you how much excitement there is with these two kids in the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyle Haines, the Giants\u2019 senior director of player development, said of the pair, \u201cThey\u2019re two different players, but both very good in their own regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gonzalez, 18, and Hernandez, 17, are only loosely similar. They\u2019re both shortstops. They were both the highest-rated position players in their respective signing classes. Gonzalez signed for $2,997,500 out of the Dominican Republic in 2025, while Hernandez signed for $5 million out of Venezuela in 2026.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s about where the similarities end.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez, the Giants\u2019 No. 1 prospect, plays with style and flash, energy and emotion. He\u2019s a big personality with a bigger smile, one that\u2019ll reveal a mouth full of braces. Salermo compares him to former Mets shortstop Jos\u00e9 Reyes, and if that praise wasn\u2019t enough, he declared that Gonzalez is an 80-grade athlete on the 20-80 scouting scale.<\/p>\n
\u201cJosuar\u2019s really kind of high energy, plays with a ton of emotion, likes loud music in the cages. Then, he goes out and plays with a high energy,\u201d said Travis Ishikawa, who is in a complex hitting coordinator role after previously serving as San Jose\u2019s hitting coach.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez models his game after Fernando Tatis Jr., whom he has worked with in the Dominican Republic along with other major leaguers including Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez and Jean Segura. He\u2019s even taken live batting practice against right-hander Luis Castillo, lining a double off the three-time All-Star.<\/p>\n
Despite being hampered by a lingering hamstring ailment earlier in the year, Gonzalez has been even better in San Jose than he was in the Arizona Complex League. Entering Wednesday, Gonzalez was hitting .367\/.473\/.589 with two homers and eight steals over 22 games with San Jose while playing dazzling defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to be flashy. He\u2019s going to bring excitement to the game,\u201d Salermo said. \u201cThe plus-speed, the plus-athleticism. He\u2019s going to give you the wow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hernandez said, with San Jose manager Ydwin Villegas interpreting. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot from him about the game and life. Playing together is something that\u2019s very special. Josuar is an incredible person, and the fact that we\u2019re playing together helps me play better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hernandez, by contrast, is calm, composed, steady. There\u2019s no shortage of people within the organization who praise Hernandez\u2019s maturity, and Salermo describes him as a \u201cprofessional in every aspect of the word.\u201d When Hernandez was asked what he considers his best skill, he didn\u2019t point to his power or his defense, but his mindset.<\/p>\n
That maturity and professionalism don\u2019t come as a surprise given his path. Along with training with former major leaguer Carlos Guill\u00e9n, Hernandez also hit .346 over 104 at-bats in the Venezuelan Major League against older competition. With that background, the Giants\u2019 brass had Hernandez skip the Dominican Summer League and sent him straight to the Arizona Complex League, where he hit .298 with six homers and six steals over 54 games.<\/p>\n
The pair are definitely on the fast track in the Giants organization. Buster Posey was 22 when he played in San Jose in 2009. There are usually a handful of 18-year-olds who play in the California League each year (e.g. Jhonny Level, the Giants\u2019 No. 3 prospect), but according to the San Jose Giants, they haven\u2019t had a 17-year-old player since at least 2010, which is as far as their records go. Hernandez has struggled since being promoted to San Jose, hitting .231 with a .594 OPS over 20 games, but he\u2019s also played more games than Gonzalez did last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuis is a little bit more cerebral, kind of lower key,\u201d Ishikawa said. \u201cHe wants to get it done, get out there. Kind of a quiet, not really outspoken guy, but just goes out and plays the game and does the job the way he has.\u201d<\/p>\n
This news organization visited Excite Ballpark on Tuesday night, and while Hernandez sat out due to a hip ailment, Gonzalez flashed the talent that many believe could make him baseball\u2019s best prospect in a year.<\/p>\n
On the first play of the game, Gonzalez backhanded a grounder in the six-hole, then fired a strike across the diamond. The next inning, Gonzalez backhanded a short hop, spun against the grain and delivered a strike across the diamond. He moves with smoothness and fluidity without compromising his internal clock. There\u2019s a coolness, a swagger that borders on nonchalance. For Gonzalez, the game comes easy.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez and Hernandez have been lumped together since Hernandez signed with the organization earlier this year. When talking about one, it\u2019s hard not to mention the other. To Ishikawa, it\u2019s only natural for competition to arise. There is, after all, only one shortstop position available when they share a lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get two guys that know they\u2019re really good at baseball, and obviously when you play the same position, you\u2019re not a human being if you\u2019re not secretly competing with the guy next to you,\u201d Ishikawa said. \u201cYou never want anything bad to happen to them, but you know you\u2019re doing everything you can to try to one-up them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLuis is the steady player who can take it over with doubles and some of his power in the gaps, where Josuar can literally just electrify the game at a moment\u2019s notice with stolen bases and using his speed,\u201d Haines said.<\/p>\n
Still, the two are nothing but complimentary toward one another. Hernandez described Gonzalez as a \u201chumble human being\u201d and an \u201cunbelievable\u201d player who can do everything. Gonzalez praised Hernandez as a \u201cgreat person\u201d and said that \u201cthe professionalism from Luis is unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always pushing each other,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cWe\u2019re always talking, communicating. Talking about the game, talking about practice. If I couldn\u2019t get to a ground ball, I\u2019ll ask Josuar, \u2018How was my first step?\u2019 We\u2019re always sharing information that helps us to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Luis sees something on me, he\u2019ll tell me,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cWe\u2019re always talking and pushing each other to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since Gonzalez and Hernandez both profile as shortstops, the Giants have had both of them pick up secondary positions so they can share a lineup. Gonzalez has spent some time at second base, while Hernandez has mixed in some time at third base. If Gonzalez and Hernandez both pan out as expected, the Giants will eventually have to figure out how to make room for the duo in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez and Hernandez are still years away from making their debuts. They\u2019re still teenagers, both of whom are still taking online classes to fulfill their educational requirements. Their ambitions reside in San Francisco, and they both know they need time to get there. Should all go according to plan, they\u2019ll be celebrating those walk-off wins and embracing one another in front of bigger crowds and under brighter lights.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think about playing in the big leagues, being in San Francisco,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cAt the same, I know it\u2019s going to take time to get there. I\u2019m not worried about going there right now. \u2026 I\u2019m keeping my feet where I\u2019m at right now, and I\u2019m going step by step, trusting the process and believing I\u2019m going to be there at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last word is from God. So, whenever God decides I\u2019m going to go there, I\u2019ll be ready to go there,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI\u2019m going to continue to work hard and play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2014 On an idyllic summer night at Excite Ballpark, one where the venue\u2019s famous churros are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[2135,184,7,23726,402,181,1334,395,101,396,4820,88,90,89,198,200,127],"class_list":["post-445234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-baseball","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-giants-hq","tag-inside-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-mlb","tag-peninsula","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-county","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-south-bay","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}