Pirates Have One of MLB's Best Pitching Prospects

Jul 22, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Seth Hernandez (left) the Pittsburgh Pirates first round and number six overall pick in the 2025 first year player draft looks at the glove of Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) before the game against the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pirates Have One of MLB's Best Pitching Prospects

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated May 6, 2026 5:10 PM ET

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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a great farm system with one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball.

Right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez recently came in at 10th overall in the latest top 100 re-ranking from Baseball America for the month of May, less than a year after the Pirates drafted him sixth overall.

Hernandez ranks as the fourth best pitching prospect in baseball and second in the 2025 draft class to Seattle Mariners left-hander Kade Anderson, who went third overall.

The only Pirates prospect that ranks higher than Hernandez is shortstop Konnor Griffin, the top prospect in baseball that will graduate soon, which will make Hernandez the next great talent for the franchise.

How Hernandez Has Risen into the Top 10

Hernandez already ranked high in prospect lists prior to this, as he was the top prep pitcher in the draft, coming out of Corona High School in Corona, Calif.

The promise for Hernandez was his 100 mph fastball, parachute-like changeup, plus a slider and curveball that would get better over time.

Hernandez has pitched with Single-A Bradenton and has been incredibly dominant, serving as the best pitcher in the Florida State League so far, earning Player of the Month honors for April.

He has a 2-0 record in five starts, a 1.53 ERA over 22.0 innings pitched, 41 strikeouts to six walks, a .133 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 0.73 WHIP. He also has posted a 16.77 K/9, a 2.45 BB/9 and a 6.83 K/BB.

Hernandez isn't a qualified pitcher in the FSL, but still leads all pitchers with 41 striketouts and would be at the top or near there in almost all categories.

Promotion Looming for Hernandez?

The way that Hernandez has pitched so far with Bradenton, many Pirates fans have wondered when he'll earn his promotion to High-A Greensboro.

Hernandez has the stuff that would have him excel in High-A, but the Pirates are practicing caution with him so far.

The reason for this is they want to build up his workload over the season, coming off of his past two seasons in high school where he threw less than a combined 110 innings.

Pirates pitchers like Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller will throw 180+ innings this year and Hernandez hasn't done anywhere near that in his career so far.

Hernandez is staying steady with his workload, improving from three innings in his first start to four innings in his second start and then five innings each in his past five starts.

A promotion should come at some point this season for Hernandez, but the Pirates will want to see how he responds to taking on more work than he's ever had.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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