Pirates Sign 2025 First-Round Draft Pick Seth Hernandez 

The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced the club has signed right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez, who was selected with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2025 First-Year Player Draft.

Hernandez was rated by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in this year’s draft (No. 3 by MLB Pipeline) as a senior this past season at Corona (CA) High School.

Coming into the draft, Baseball America rated Hernandez with having the “Best Changeup” and the fourth-best “Fastball” among this year’s high school draft class.

The 19-year-old Hernandez took home 2024-25 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year honors (2024 Pirates first-round pick Konnor Griffin took home the award last year).

Hernandez struck out 105 batters while recording a 0.39 ERA (53.1ip/6r/3er) in his 11 appearances (11 starts) this past season for Corona High School. He also hit .319 with seven home runs and a 1.019 OPS as a senior.

Hernandez, who was the 2023-24 Gatorade California Baseball Player of the Year, had an 18-1 record in his career at Corona High School while also being a two-time Los Angeles Times Player of the Year.

Hernandez was signed by Pirates scout Mark Sluys