1 week Ago
The top high school pitcher in the country, righthander Seth Hernandez, took perhaps his biggest stage of the season Thursday afternoon at USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational. Throwing for his No. 1 ranked and undefeated Corona High team in the NHSI semifinals, Hernandez—currently the fourth-ranked player in the 2025 class—threw a complete game with 11 strikeouts against Columbus High (Miami) in front of a horde of major league scouts.
In a wide open draft class with no obvious 1-1 pick, Hernandez made his case to be the first player off the board by holding mid-90s velocity throughout, touching 99 mph in his final frame and routinely generating empty swings with a low-80s, 70-grade changeup that lived up to its hype. His performance wasn’t flawless. But it was loud enough for scouts to wonder whether he has a chance to be the first-ever high school righty taken No.
1 overall. It also has scouts talking about whether or not he’s a superior talent to former SoCal flamethrower Hunter Greene. Greene’s second overall selection out of Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
in 2017 represents the peak a prep righty has reached in the draft alongside eight other names including Josh Beckett (1999), J.R. Richard (1969), Bill Gullickson (1977) and Jameson Taillon (2010) among the most successful.
In total, Hernandez threw 95 pitches (65 strikes) across seven innings and scattered three hits with a walk while punching out 11. For good measure, he went 2-for-2 with a walk at the plate while batting out of the cleanup spot. Both hits were sharply-hit singles, and if it weren’t for his prodigious arm talent, Hernandez would be a legitimate pro prospect as an infielder and batter.
His pitching upside should bring his hitting days to an end in the near future, though, and whoever selects Hernandez will get a pitcher with a four-pitch mix led by a lethal fastball/changeup combination. Listed at 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, Hernandez has a terrific pitcher’s frame with loads of projection remaining to go with plenty of strength already. He works from the first base side of the rubber and throws with a free and easy arm action out of a three-quarters slot with a direct stride to the plate and balanced finish.
He works with a deliberate tempo on the bump and has the sort of athleticism, delivery and pitchability to project at least above-average command in the future. In Thursday’s outing, Hernandez pitched in the 94-98 mph range throughout his seven innings. He didn’t throw a fastball below 94 until the sixth inning when he tossed a single heater at 93 mph.
Then in the seventh, he reached back and touched 99 mph for his hardest bolt of the day. Hernandez generated eight whiffs with his fastball and finished three of his 11 strikeouts with the pitch—the first at 98, the second at 97 and the third at 99. He showed strong feel to land the pitch for strikes and did a nice job attacking to both his arm and glove side, with only a few yanked misses down and to his glove side.
Hernandez’s changeup has long been his top offspeed offering. In this look, he used the pitch to get 10 swings and misses and finish off seven of his strikeouts. He threw the pitch with loads of confidence in the 81-85 mph range and has the ability to land it in the zone for strikes or bury it beneath to get ugly chases and whiffs.
Hernandez uses a circle change grip and will slightly adjust the placement of his thumb underneath the ball depending on whether or not he wants to throw it in the zone for a strike or add more fade and tumble to elicit a chase. The pitch stands out in many ways, including its movement, velocity separation off his fastball, the arm speed with which he throws it and his advanced feel for the pitch. He started throwing the change before either of his breaking balls as a young pitcher.
Now it’s a true 70-grade offering that rivals some of the best changeups we’ve seen in recent years, most notably including 2022 first-rounder Dylan Lesko’s.Hernandez also employed a pair of breaking balls. The first is a spike-curveball he threw in the 80-83 mph range early in the outing before it dipped to 76-80 late in the start.
The second is a harder and tighter slider he threw at 86-87 mph. Hernandez favored the curve in this look, and the one strikeout he got that didn’t come from his fastball or changeup came on the curveball. The pitch flashes solid bite when he is on top of it, but it was more inconsistent in shape and execution, as evidenced by a few that popped up early out of his hand or showed lazier break in the upper 70s.
Neither breaking ball has the sort of present polish that both his fastball and changeup boast, but Hernandez generates plenty of pure spin—around the 2,600 rpm range today with his curve and a bit lower with the slider—and mentioned that his curve, in particular, has felt like one of his most consistent pitches this spring. A more consistent breaking ball is about the only projection needed with Hernandez at this stage, and he has all the tools to make it happen.The post Seth Hernandez Strengthens MLB Draft Stock With Impressive Performance At NHSI appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.
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