Jose Fernandez has taken the league by storm. He is by far my favorite young phenom to watch (yes even more than Harvey). Comps for players are always an odd ordeal. Usually analysts simply compare them based on body type, nationality, skin color, or some other stereotype instead of their actual skills and approach. I’m not trying to be a hypocrite after that opening spiel, but when I watch Fernandez pitch all I can think is: “young Felix.”

Felix Hernandez debuted in 2005 at the age of 19 and did a little better than hold his own. He posted a 2.67 ERA in 84 innings while striking out eight batters per nine innings. His first full season was a little rough in some patches which ultimately resulted in a 4.52 ERA, but the brilliance that was flashed during that season let everyone know that Hernandez would soon be a star.

Jose debuted this season. Many people, including myself, thought Miami had called him up much too soon; not only for development reasons, but for financial ones as well. Why would Jeff Loria dump all of the contracts signed in the previous offseason only to start the arbitration clock on his most prized arm? Loria was right to call him up. I tuned in for Fernandez’s debut against the Mets and was immediately awestruck by sheer crispness of his pitches. He blew hitters away with 95+ mph heat and when they tried to adjust he would simply buckle their knees with his incredible breaking ball. Fast forward 4 months and Fernandez has a 2.71 ERA and is averaging a little over (9.3) a strikeout per inning. Jose is also 12th in the NL in fWAR (2.5). He could possibly be much higher if the Marlins weren’t being so protective of his innings limit, but that beside the point. Let’s compare Jose Fernandez to a young Felix Hernandez.

I’ll be using 2007 data for Felix since that is first set of PitchF/x data I have available to me.

As you can see, Felix could bring it. It’s tough to imagine averaging 98 mph on a fastball, but Felix did it. The slider was his second most frequent pitch and rightfully so. Here are the stats against each of his pitches:

Hitters couldn’t do anything versus his slider. The change was also a fantastic pitch and he’s using it more in 2013, due to the fact that he has lost velocity with age. As you can see, Felix had a finely tuned arsenal at a very young age that kept hitters guessing and allowed him to carve up opposing batters.

Let’s jump to 2013 and Jose Fernandez.

As you can see, everything is nearly identical. Fernandez’s velocity is a little below Felix’s, but still a very potent 96 mph on his average fastball. If you combine Felix’s curve and slider use you get 35.04%. HE threw his breaking stuff a little more frequently than Jose, but the comparison is still pretty startling. Check out the horizontal movement on Fernandez’s curve; it’s nearly double Felix’s!

Batters don’t hit ANY of Fernandez’s pitches well. He shown the ability to get batters out with every pitch he has. If you sit on the sinker you’ll just beat it into the ground (44.8% GB rate) and if you try to hit his curve you have a 34% chance of hitting nothing but air.

For one final comparison:

I’ve combined their fastballs and sinkers into one category, since the pitches can be qualified differently based on quality of the pitchf/x system. Their lines are essentially one line. Felix did throw many more pitches that were qualified as sinkers than Fernandez, but everything else is nearly identical.

Felix Hernandez is one of the greatest pitchers of my generation and I’m still in awe every time I watch him toe the rubber. He might not get as much fanfare and publicity as Justin Verlander or Clayton Kershaw, but there is no doubt he is right there with them. They all may have company soon though, in the form of Jose Fernandez. Fernandez might not be Felix (that’s a tall order), he might fall somewhere in between, or he might be better either way I’ll be glued to my TV in order to watch it for myself.

Landon Jones is a contributor to RotoAnalysis. Follow him on Twitter @JonesLandon and look for his work all season long on RotoAnalysis.com!

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Photo Credit: http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2013/04/13/23/30/bQT4G.Em.56.jpeg