Seth Hernandez/Photo provided by Callie Cline
This is one in a series of stories breaking down PBN’s Top 30 Pirates prospects.
If a team could make an amateur pitcher in a lab to give them exactly what they want, he would probably look like Seth Hernandez. The Pirates selected the right-hander out of high school in California with the sixth pick in the 2025 draft.
The 6-4, 190-pound Hernandez has the build. He has the pitches — a fastball capable of touching triple digits, a plus-curveball, a changeup that already showed promise and is improving, and a slider as a fourth offering. He’s also athletic for a pitcher, has a repeatable delivery, high confidence and a strong work ethic.
Now, Hernandez has the performance to back the upside. The 20-year-old made his professional debut this year. He began started the season with Low-A Bradenton and won the Florida State League Pitcher of the Month for April. In six starts with the Marauders, Hernandez went 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA. He struck out 50 batters in 28 innings and limited opponents to a .135 batting average.
The Pirates quickly promoted Hernandez to High-A Greensboro on May 12. In the hitter-friendly South Atlantic League, he continued to perform. Hernandez made a dozen starts as a Grasshopper and went 3-1 with a 3.33 ERA. He logged 46 innings, walked 24 and struck out 68. Opponents hit .209 against him.
Unfortunately for Hernandez, an oblique injury in July ended his season. His stint on the IL lasted the rest of the season, but Hernandez is feeling 100% healthy, he recently said in a Zoom interview after being named Pittsburgh’s minor-league pitcher of the year.
Hernandez also represented the Pirates at this year’s Futures games along with outfield prospect Edward Florentino. Hernandez struck out two and needed 14 pitches to complete a perfect second inning in that contest.
The Pirates have done well developing starting pitching in recent years. Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Jared Jones and Bubba Chandler were all drafted by the Pirates and have made their respective debuts in the last three years. All four were a big part of Pittsburgh’s rotation this year and will be moving forward.
Hernandez looks poised to join them in relatively short order. In fact, the 2025 first-rounder said his goal is to make it to the big leagues in 2027.
It’s an aggressive goal, and one that could be hard to accomplish next season. But with how quickly Hernandez got acclimated to professional baseball, he could continue to rise quickly through the organization.
Regardless of when he arrives in Pittsburgh, Hernandez could one day give the Pirates an ace atop their rotation.
Mentioned in this article:Pittsburgh Pirates Seth Hernandez
More about:Pirates Farm System