Seth Hernandez is already talking like a pitcher who expects the climb to keep moving fast.
The 20-year-old right-hander, Pittsburgh’s No. 6 pick in 2025 out of Corona High School in California, has set his sights on reaching the big leagues before he turns 21. That timeline would put him in the same neighborhood as Paul Skenes, who debuted in the Majors at 21, less than a year after LSU, and Konnor Griffin, who was 19 when he reached The Show.
Hernandez met Skenes on July 22, 2025, the day he signed his professional contract, and told him he’d soon be helping the big league squad. Griffin had delivered the same message to Skenes after signing with Pittsburgh.
“A goal that I always think about is making the big leagues while I'm still 20 years old,” Hernandez told MLB.com. “So if I could make it before June 28 of next year, that would be pretty awesome.”
For now, Hernandez is headed to Philadelphia for the All-Star Futures Game as one of two Pirates representatives, and he arrives there with plenty of momentum. MLB Pipeline ranks him as baseball’s No. 6 prospect, and in less than a year as a pro he has climbed to the top right-handed pitching prospect in the sport. He also became the first Minor Leaguer to 100 strikeouts in 2026.
That production has come with a 2.59 ERA across 15 starts between Single-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro. Hernandez said it’s hard not to notice the prospect rankings and the attention that follows them, especially after he first saw social-media buzz when he touched 100 mph for the first time at the Area Code Baseball tournaments before his senior year of high school.
The strikeouts matter to him, but not in the way they might to everyone else. Hernandez said he’s most proud of reaching 100 strikeouts so far in pro ball, yet he sees the job as something more than just numbers.
His high school coach, Andy Wise, called him “graceful” on the mound, and Hernandez said he models his game after pitchers who “move down the mound,” naming Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler as his examples. At 6-foot-4, with a 70-grade fastball and plenty of velocity, he likes being viewed as a “stuff guy.”
“Pitching is an art for me,” Hernandez said. “So I not only enjoy the strikeouts, but I enjoy a well-executed strikeout.”
The praise around him has been loud, and the Pirates know they need to handle him carefully. Bradenton pitching coach Matt Ford said, “He’s one of the most uber-talented pitchers I've ever been around for the age,” and added, “I don't think I’ve ever had a high school kid that polished.” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington joked on 93.7 The Fan that the organization must “remind ourselves that he is 12 months out from high school prom.”
Hernandez has already had to deal with more workload than he ever did in a year before. He’s at 66 innings now, and Pirates director of coaching and player development Michael Chernow said managing that workload is a collaborative process.
On the way up to being named the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year, Hernandez played both ways for Wise at Corona, where his coach kept a close eye on his pitch count and what he did the day after starts. Wise said there were times Hernandez wanted to keep throwing, but he made sure to shut it down when needed.
The first real setback came in Hernandez’s final game at Corona, when the Panthers lost to St. John Bosco, 2-0.
It was his first loss, and Wise saw it as another sign Hernandez could handle a rough day. On Draft day, Hernandez slid a little farther than expected and went No. 6 after being projected as a top-three pick.
He’s still adjusting to life in pro ball, including pitching in Greensboro, a hitter-friendly park, and dealing with the road for the first time in High-A. Hernandez said he keeps his routine tight and prepares for the days when the game doesn’t hand him everything he wants.
Those days haven’t come often yet. And Hernandez knows exactly what he’s trying to prove, no matter how young he is.
“These guys are trying to take food off your plate,” Hernandez said. “So you've got to be able to go out and compete. Yeah, these guys are older than me, but you’ve got to be able to go out and grind and can't really think too much about, ‘Oh, I'm young, so I have an advantage.’”
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