When word spread in Miami that Marlins second baseman Kikè Hernandez (pronounced Kee-Kay) had been traded to the Dodgers last December, he immediately began receiving phone calls and text messages from his teammates and friends telling him that he was being traded to a team that did not have a roster spot for him and that he was going to end up back minors.

What was Hernandez’s reply to this?

“I always like to think big, I always like planning things out,” Hernandez said, “I worked the whole entire off-season working towards being the everyday second baseman in Miami and when I got traded, I got all these people telling me ‘Oh you got traded, you got screwed by that trade, there’s no room for you there,’ and I told myself ‘Hey, I don’t care, they traded for me for a reason, it means they like me.’ I’m just going to keep working hard.”

And work hard he did.”

After a successful off-season playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League, Hernandez showed up at Camelback Ranch a week earlier that he was due to get a head start on spring training. But after the first two weeks of games, Hernandez was struggling – not good when you are fighting for one of only two utility infielder jobs up for grabs.

“At the beginning I was trying to do too much, that’s just not the hitter I am,” Hernandez said. “I’m a pretty good hitter that uses the whole field and I wasn’t doing that. I was swinging too big, I was trying to hit the ball really hard and basically I was throwing away at-bats. I just told myself ‘Hey, they know what you can do, just go out there and have fun and things are going to fall into place.

Sure enough, about a week ago things did begin to fall in place for the extremely likable 23-year-old San Juan, Puerto Rico native. During the two-game series against the Texas Rangers at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Hernandez hit his first home run of the spring on Friday followed by his second on Saturday. But what was most impressive about these home runs is that they were both opposite field shots to right-center field of the uniquely shaped Alamodome. And just to prove that they weren’t flukes, Hernandez hit his third home run in three days on Sunday against the Cleveland Indians at Camelback Ranch to – you guessed it – right-center field.

“I’m doing better this week,” Hernandez said. “At the beginning I was pressing a little bit. I was a little anxious to get that first hit out of the way with my new team. Once that first hit fell down everything started going the way it’s supposed to go. I was back doing my thing and basically I’m more comfortable now.”

Kikè Hernandez is swinging the hottest bat on the team right now, which makes the decision of who stays and who goes even more difficult for the Dodgers brass. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

In spite of his sudden power surge, Hernandez readily admits that the long ball is not hit game, but he shared what is.

“I’m not a home run hitter. Obviously when you’re doing good, when you’re seeing the ball well, you’re going to start driving the ball better,” Hernandez said. “I’m a gap-to-gap hitter, I use the whole field. I do have a little bit of pop and I’ve been putting good swings on the ball and just driving it. I’m trying to drive the ball no matter where and just where it’s pitched and hit it. I’ve managed to put good swings on it and the ball just left the field. I’m not trying to hit homers, just get a hit.”

But Hernandez knows the odds; he knows that he is competing against Justin Turner, Darwin Barney and Alex Guerrero for a spot on the Dodgers Opening Day roster. But he isn’t letting this deter him or even allowing it to enter his mind.

“My goal is to make the big league, I’m not thinking about Triple-A, I’m not thinking about anything else,”said Hernandez. “There’s two weeks left in camp and I’m still working towards the same goal. If they decide to send me to Triple-A I’m just going to do my thing so I’m in Triple-A for a week or two maybe and I’ll be back up on the team. I want to be in the big leagues, I want to help the team win. I really think I can help that.”