MESA, Ariz. – Comparing prospects to established big-leaguers is a risky business.
Yes, player comps provide a frame of reference. But they almost always evoke the names of superstars. Talk about outsized expectations.
Cubs prospect Cristian Hernández doesn’t flinch when he’s compared to Manny Machado and Alex Rodriguez.
“That’s the goal one day — to be that,” Hernández said this week, through team interpreter Will Nadal. “I’ve just got to keep doing my work, be focused, committed, just continue to do everything that I need to do to get to that point, hopefully, one day.”
Hernández, 18, has plenty of time to get there.