07/05/2017 - Under Armour Firecracker Classic 18U, powered by Baseball Factory's Team One
Joshua continues to show improvements in his baseball abilities and has a promising future on the diamond. At the plate, power potential is now tremendous as he has great strength in his swing. Hands are quick (88 mph exit velocity). He stays inside the ball, utilizing all fields with gap-to-gap pop. At the event, he was 6 for 8 with 3 2B and 2 3B. At 1B, he displays good footwork around the bag and is a solid receiver, displaying clean hands. Glove action is soft/sure and he presents well out front. On the mound, arm strength has improved as he threw his top velocity to date at 82 mph. He attacks hitters throwing a lot of strikes, working both sides of the plate. Mental makeup is a plus as he has a great attitude and works hard to be the best player he can be.
01/13/2017 - Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament
On the bump, Fernandez displays a sound/repeatable delivery, working in line and on time allowing his arm to work loose/free to the plate. Arm strength has improved as he threw his top velocity to date at 81 mph. Breaking ball displays 1/7 shape with early break. He maintains arm speed on his changeup, showing a feel for with sinking action. The pitch shows good deception. He shows good composure and competes on the mound. Stock on the mound will continue to rise as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. At 1B, he displays proper footwork around the bag and is a quality receiver. Hands are soft/sure and he showed the ability to pick balls out of the dirt, saving throws. At the plate he shows a crouched/athletic setup. Hands are quick, and work through an aggressive swing path. Barrel accuracy is a plus and he makes consistent contact with power showing best to the pull side.
07/20/2016 - Under Armour Southwest Championships 16U, powered by Baseball Factory's Team One
Joshua continues to show improvements in his baseball abilities and has a promising future on the diamond. At the plate is where Joshua has improved the most, now showing outstanding hitting and power potential. Hands are quick (94 mph exit velocity) and work through a level swing path as he makes consistent contact, staying inside the ball well, utilizing all fields. He shows a feel for the barrel with gap to gap pop. At the event, he was 4 for 8 with 2 2B. At 1B, Joshua moves well laterally, displaying range and works through a low to high approach, playing through the ball well. Feet are active as he displays proper footwork around the bag. Hands are soft and clean as he consistently showed the ability to pick balls out of the dirt, saving throws. On the mound, Joshua's fastball showed a range of 77-78 mph. Breaking ball displays 2/8 shape with late breaking action. Control is solid as he throws strikes with all his pitches. Mental makeup is a plus as he is very coachable and plays the game hard. A projectable 1B, Joshua has the makings of a special type player and will get looks from collegiate coaches with his offensive and defensive abilities.
01/10/2016 - College PREP - San Antonio, TX
Fernandez continues to shine on the diamond. Offensively, this lefty stands in well with rhythm in his hands and patience. He gets good separation and connects with pop to his pull-side (exit velocity = 85 mph). At 1B - Joshua moves well into an athletic fielding position picking out the correct hops. He makes the plays with soft/sure hands working from the ground-up. On the mound, this lefty has a repeatable delivery and throws strikes with all 3-pitches. FB sits in the mid 70's as he can hit the corners well. Breaking ball has 2/8 shape with effectiveness improving as he works to 'break it off' with more snap. Joshua is a hard worker who has a ton of upside on the diamond.
07/29/2015 - Baseball Factory National World Series at Pirate City - Session 1
Josh was back at it with Baseball Factory competing well with strong fundamentals. Offensively, the lefty had a level path to hit and was very accurate with the barrel, centering the ball on contact. He had good balance throughout the swing and worked to tap into his lower half strength even more, during the cage sessions. At 1B, he was constantly in the right defensive position per hitter, and worked his feet well to both field and receive around the bag. His arm was accurate as he threw across the diamond, and with more arm strength will play even better. On the mound, he threw his FB with tail, spun a CB with 1/7 shape, flashed a SL with 3/9 sweep, and a CH with tail. He gathered himself mechanically with balance, and showed clean arm action to deliver. In bullpen segments this offseason, Josh should incorporate the towel drill for added front side extension and work on his core strength. All in all - Fernandez is a promising, well rounded ball player, that competes in all facets of the game - 3 doubles / triple in AB's, challenging hitters as a hurler, and making plays with the glove.
06/13/2015 - Omaha National World Series - Session 1
Joshua showed strong ability against solid competition at the Omaha Baseball Factory National World Series. On the hill, the southpaw pumped his fastball up to 79 with cut, spun a 2-8 CB from 51-53, and threw a CH from 50-57. Mechanically, he gathered over the rubber and separated on-time to give way to his clean arm action with front side extension. He made adjustments with his arm speed throwing his CH and should continue to perfect his bullpens. At the plate, he hit with good bat speed and rotated his core to help whip the barrel through the zone. He had good balance through the swing and sprayed the ball to all fields. Defensively at 1B, he was sure handed and had good body control to move right and left. In all - Josh is an interesting follow that has a lot of time to strengthen his game and make it more consistent for high level play.
01/11/2015 - College PREP - San Antonio, TX
Joshua is a young, solid 1B/LHP that will graduate in 2018. Currently, he projects best at 1B for the next level. At the plate is where he shows best, displaying well above average hitting with solid power potential through a balanced setup. Hands are quick, generating bat speed and work through a level swing path. He shows a feel for the barrel with strength in his swing and makes consistent hard contact as he works to stay inside the ball to utilize all fields, displaying gap to gap pop. At 1B, he displays proper footwork around the bag and is a quality receiver. He works to square balls up, displaying clean hands with defensive grade improving as he attacks balls more, plays through, and increases foot quickness. Throws are accurate but needs to build more arm strength through a long toss program. On the mound, fastball shows a range of 67-69 mph with sinking action. Breaking ball displays 2/8 shape with gradual break. Changeup shows loose spin as he slows his body/arm down, tipping off pitches to hitters. Stock on the mound will continue to increase as he builds more arm strength, throws more strikes, and develops better off speed stuff. With 3 years to further develop, Joshua has the makings of a special type player and will catch the eyes of the collegiate coaches as he continues to improve.