No. 2 Draft prospect Hernandez earns Gatorade Player of the Year honors
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Seth Hernandez has established himself as the top high school pitching prospect in the nation, coming in as MLB's No. 2 overall Draft prospect.
Now the California native can add some hardware to back that up: on Thursday, he was named the 2024-25 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year.
Hernandez is the 40th winner of the national award, with past winners from Gary Sheffield (1986) to Clayton Kershaw (2006) to Konnor Griffin (2024) combining to earn four MVP awards and 42 All-Star appearances in the Majors. The 18-year-old learned of the news at his Corona (Calif.) High School, where he was greeted by World Series Champion and 14-year MLB veteran Dexter Fowler, who presented him with the award.
"I was super surprised," Hernandez told MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo in an exclusive interview. "I just came in today like a normal day. It was supposed to be a picture day with all the guys, kind of like goodbyes. I walked out of the locker room and obviously saw more cameras than you'd see for a picture day. I walked a little more and then saw my family, friends, mentors, people who had just supported me throughout the years. Dexter handed me the trophy, and it was just super surreal. It was a moment I'll never forget. It was awesome."
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Routinely touching triple digits with his fastball, Hernandez has been nothing short of dominant on the mound in high school. Across 11 starts this season, according to MaxPreps, he struck out 105 batters in 53 1/3 innings and allowed just six runs (three earned) on 19 hits and seven walks. Only two of those hits went for extra bases -- both doubles.
Although his future in pro ball, where he's in contention to be the No. 1 pick, is on the mound, Hernandez also was a fine hitter for the Panthers as well. In 116 plate appearances, he slashed .300/.371/.590 with seven home runs.
The 6-foot-4 prep star has been a name to watch for years. Prior to transferring to Corona for his junior year, he was homeschooled and stood out at showcase events, including the Area Code Baseball Games.
"It was either my freshman or sophomore year, the velo ticked up a ton," Hernandez said. "I always had pretty good arm action, so it was really just growing into my body. My sophomore year, I went to Dodger Stadium for an Area Code event. I hit 96 [mph] on the gun. I wasn't really a pitcher at the time, but obviously you're a sophomore hitting 96, that's kind of an eye-opener. It really just set the standard for what I could do and what I could do in the future going forward."
Hernandez has been a star at the past two National High School Invitational showcases and is expected to become the 28th winner of the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award to become a first-round pick.
He'll have to wait until July to see where he lands in the Draft -- but until then, he's earned his place as the best high school player in the nation.