Konnor Griffin made his highly anticipated debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on PNC Park Opening Day this year. Griffin isn’t just the Pirates’ number one prospect, but the consensus number one prospect across the entire sport. However, on the same day Griffin made his MLB debut, Pirates’ 2025 first-round pick Seth Hernandez also made his pro debut at A-Ball Bradenton. Now the question on everyone’s mind is, how long will we have to wait to see Hernandez in the Major Leagues?
Hernandez has done nothing but stoke the flames on his hype. The young right-hander looked incredible in Spring Training. He started the Pirates’ Spring Breakout game, averaging 100.6 MPH with his four-seam fastball. He hit 102+ MPH twice, impressing Detroit Tigers’ top prospect Max Clark with his scorching velocity.
Hernandez’s first pro game was nothing short of astounding. He only pitched three innings and allowed an earned run, but struck out a whopping eight batters. It took Hernandez just 39 pitches to get through three innings of work. Of those 39 offerings, 30 were strikes, and he induced 18 whiffs. While he wasn’t hitting 102 MPH on multiple occasions, he was still averaging around 98 MPH, with 19 inches of induced vertical break on his four-seam fastball.
Hernandez kicking his pro career off with a bang was not unexpected. He was considered one of the best prep arms ever to enter the MLB draft. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com even compared Hernandez to former three-time All-Star, one-time Cy Young runner-up, and 2003 World Series MVP, Josh Beckett. He entered the draft as a consensus top-three name, ranking third on MLB Pipeline’s rankings and second on Baseball America’s top draft prospect list.
One name many Pirates fans are immediately going to start comparing Hernandez to is Paul Skenes. Skenes was the first overall pick by the Pirates in the 2023 draft. It took him less than a year to make his MLB debut, starting his first game in the Major Leagues in May 2024. However, unlike Hernandez, Skenes was drafted out of college. Skenes was in his age-22 season when he made his debut, while Hernandez is currently in his age-20 campaign.
Since Hernandez drew a comparison to Beckett, he may follow a similar path to the Major Leagues. Beckett was drafted in 1999 and made his debut in 2001. Like Hernandez, Beckett also made his pro debut in his age-20 campaign in 2000. However, Beckett wouldn’t become a full-time member of an MLB rotation until his age-22 campaign. He only made four starts in 2001.
While Konnor Griffin is a position player prospect, it’s not out of the question that Hernandez has a similar rise throughout the minor leagues. Teams have become a lot more aggressive in promoting their players since the days of Josh Beckett’s debut. Instead of making his debut late in the next season (like Beckett in 2004, who was a September call-up), Hernandez may see the Major Leagues much earlier, like Griffin.
By the middle of Summer 2027, Seth Hernandez may already be a well-established name in the Pirates’ rotation. He is that talented. His debut will be another extremely hyped game to look forward to in the very near future. He, along with Skenes, Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, and Mitch Keller, could make a devastatingly dominant starting rotation next season.
