First Look: Top Prospect Seth Hernandez Quickly Catches Eye of Pirates Catcher
Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Rafael Flores Jr. arrived in Bradenton a month earlier than the report date next month.
Flores has been at Pirate City since Jan. 11 to work with the staff and get a head start on the preparation that will come when pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 11.
Among the pitchers Flores has worked with is 2025 first-round draft pick Seth Hernandez, who was selected by the Pirates with the sixth pick out of Corona High School in California.
“Gross,” Flores said on his impressions of Hernandez. “19-year-olds should now be throwing 100 [mph] and he is. That goes to show how hard he works. I worked with him in the offseason, so I’ve seen him work and he pushes me, I push him.”
Hernandez was considered the top high school pitcher available in the ’25 draft and one of the top prep pitchers available in recent history.
Hernandez was named the 2025 National High School Gatorade Player of the Year after he went 9-1 with a 0.39 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 53.1 innings during his senior season.
In addition to his power fastball, Hernandez has a deep arsenal consisting of several exciting offspeed pitches and the frame and athleticism scouts dream of.
“He can throw wherever he wants,” said Flores. “The heater, changeup, curveball, slider, everything, he can throw where he wants. And for him being only 19, being able to do that is insane.”
Hernandez has yet to appear in a game in the Pirates organization but will do so this coming season.
Despite not yet toeing the rubber as a professional, Hernandez has already emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. According to MLB Pipeline, Hernandez is considered the game’s 29th-best prospect and is ranked as the fifth-best right-handed pitching prospect.
With everything he possess, from a 100-mph fastball, a plus-curveball and changeup and a sharp slider, to a 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame with room to fill out and above-average athleticism for a pitcher, there’s no telling how high Hernandez’s ceiling is.
“He’s going to be a really good pitcher,” said Flores.
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Combine velocity with an increased emphasis on “spin rate,” which requires the pitcher to put dizzying movement on pitches at high speeds, and you have one hell of a player. Holding it together is the frail ulnar collateral ligament. The skill level and weight training are so good, but the person is asking something of a ligament that has repeatedly proven can do only so much before it snaps.
Where are the Tom Glavin’s and Greg Maddox’s of the world?
Pitchers like that are extinct, because we now can see the strike zone and it would become very clear very quickly how much extra plate those two pitchers were getting.
Your comment is pointless considering the horrid balls and strikes calls still going on today.
I’m saying not every pitcher needs to be a flame thrower to succeed while risking injury. Elite command and understanding sequence of pitches is absent in most pitchers these days.
No, Dugly’s point is valid. We’re not talking about 8 or 10 bad calls out of 120 in a game, which is common. We’re talking about consistently giving 3 to 6 inches off the plate CONSISTENTLY throughout a game. Go back and watch Glavine in the 90s. It’s sickening.
You could have an automated system calling balls and strikes and Maddox and Glavine would still dominate.
I personally do not know Seth . I knew his grandfather and Seth’s father and Seth’s uncle’s growing up . I told Seth’s father that it starts with family foundation. Seth has a great family foundation. The rest will be Pirate history .. I can only imagine playing for the same team as Roberto Clemente. Willie Stargell, Honus Wagner, Dave Parker and now with Paul Skenes as a battery mate!! Imagine that!! Go 2nd street!!
no jinx.