"I love to play out there," he said. "It's not on my mind that I'm a first-round pick. This game humbles you real quick."

It's an interesting approach for Fernandez, considering he's been humbling South Atlantic League hitters all season. The Marlins' No. 3 prospect continued his dominance Friday, allowing one run on five hits over seven innings as the Class A Greensboro Grasshoppers defeated the Lakewood BlueClaws, 6-1.

Fernandez (4-0) struck out seven without issuing a walk, lowering his ERA to 1.67. He said he was able to throw all his pitches -- four-seam fastball, two-seamer, curveball, slider and changeup -- for strikes.

"All my pitches were working pretty good," Fernandez said. "My catcher [Wilfredo Gimenez] was helping me out big-time."

The 19-year-old right-hander gave up three hits -- all doubles -- over the first three innings. Logan Moore scored Lakewood's only run after leading off the third with a two-bagger and coming home on Gauntlett Eldemire's sacrifice fly.

"One of them was a half-swing and [Bob Stumpo] hit it over the first baseman's head," Fernandez said. "After that, [Moore] hit a popup to left-center field. The one after that was a pretty good hit [by Carlos Perdomo]. I work on my pitches, but they've got bats and they practice every day. That's how it works."

Fernandez spread two base knocks over his final four frames, facing just one over the minimum, thanks to a double play. He struck out one batter in each of his seven innings.

The outing continues a strong opening to Fernandez's first full season. He has not allowed more than two runs in any start and on April 24 tossed six innings against Hickory en route to a combined no-hitter.

"I go out there and try to do my best every time, every pitch," Fernandez said. "Every time I go out there, I try to pitch good and get outs. We always have a game plan. My pitching coach [Blake McGinley] is good. He helps our pitchers a lot. We've got a good team and we've got a good coaching staff."

Fernandez, who was born in Cuba, has fanned at least seven in all but one of his starts. The 14th overall pick in the 2011 Draft leads the league with 52 strikeouts over 43 innings.

"I don't want them to know what pitch I'm throwing," said Fernandez, who has issued only 10 walks while limiting opponents to a .182 average. "I try to make good pitches, I don't try to strike out people. They'll strike out themselves."

Although Fernandez has overwhelmed the competition, he isn't worried about a promotion to the next level.

"I don't think about that," he said. "I would love to keep moving, but it's not something that's on my mind. Wherever I am, I'm going to do my job and I'm going to do the best I can."