With the sixth overall pick in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates and general manager Ben Cherington selected Seth Hernandez, a flamethrowing right-hander from Corona High School in California.
Hernandez has topped out at 100 miles per hour on the mound this season, though he usually sits in the mid-90s with an occasional burst to 98 or 99 to the glove.
As a senior, Hernandez posted a 0.39 ERA over 53.1 innings, racking up 105 strikeouts to only seven walks. He was impressive at the plate, too, batting .319 with a 1.019 OPS. Despite the temptation from some to imagine him as MLB’s next two-way threat, Hernandez’s path to the big leagues is with his arm.
His amazing arsenal has him being talked about as one of the greatest high school pitching prospects ever. In addition to a flashy fastball, Hernandez throws a wicked changeup, curveball, and slider.
Look, we can talk about whether the Pirates should have even allowed Cherington to run the draft this year, given where this team is. The Pirates are in year six of the rebuild on his watch, and are nearly 20 games under .500 with no hope for the playoffs.
The Home Run Derby on Monday, which features center fielder Oneil Cruz, and the All Star Game Tuesday, which has Paul Skenes slated to start for the National League, are the final exciting days on the Pirates’ calendar this season.
That’s just simply unacceptable.
But that argument is moot now. Cherington is overseeing this draft, whether we like it or not.
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