Basic supervisor Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates have cashed in on — properly, dished out for, actually — one highschool draftee already this season. Rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin, 19, cracked the membership’s roster and signed a profitable contract extension after only one full minor league season.
Griffin’s accelerated ascension begs the query: Can one other extremely touted Bucs prospect, pitcher Seth Hernandez, rise by means of the ranks as shortly?
Western Pennsylvania native and former MLB hurler Matt Clement pushed again in opposition to that concept throughout an look on Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday.
“There’s a course of,” said Clement, who performed 9 seasons within the MLB and was an American League All-Star with the Boston Crimson Sox in 2005. “May you rocket him by means of? Yeah. He’s gonna should hit these totally different ranges. It’s a number of stress, a number of stress on the arm. He’s coming from highschool, the place he wasn’t throwing that quantity of pitches.
“To actually know — you will get Konnor Griffin the ABs — however to get Seth Hernandez the innings to see it, it’s gonna take much more put on and tear on that arm, which is not sensible to make this a rushed factor.”
Seth Hernandez is MLB’s Twenty fourth-ranked prospect
Hernandez, who the Pirates chosen with the No. 6 general decide within the 2025 MLB Draft, is MLB.com’s No. 24 overall prospect. For now, he’s with the membership’s Class A affiliate, the Bradenton Marauders.
The 6-foot-4, 19-year-old right-hander beforehand starred at Corona Excessive Faculty (Calif.), the place he struck out 105 in 53.1 innings and posted a 0.39 ERA as a senior.
By two begins in Bradenton, Hernandez has a 1.29 ERA, 15 strikeouts, one stroll and has allowed three hits over seven innings. He tossed 4 no-hit innings his final outing, in opposition to the Palm Seashore Cardinals.
Using a four-pitch arsenal, Hernandez is “in a position to repeat his on-line and unfastened supply and command the ball, each spectacular for a younger energy pitcher,” his MLB.com scouting report says.
“He’s like a online game,” Clement mentioned. “He’s like enjoying your Nintendo, and also you’re making these pitches do stuff that (they) shouldn’t do. It’s loopy how good he’s — and to take 15 off a fastball (for his changeup).
“The curveball, the breaking ball he’s throwing, it’s just like the hitters don’t even wanna take a look at it. It’s like they will’t even see it coming.”
Matt Clement: Seth Hernandez prepared to maneuver up in minors
Clement has personally seen all he wants out of Hernandez at his present stage.
“He’s accomplished sufficient already, if you’d like my opinion, for the Excessive-A, to get to Double-A,” he mentioned.
However has he accomplished sufficient to pitch within the large leagues? That continues to be to be seen.
