Top prospect's debut showcases Pirates' development success

The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers, 8-7, in the team's annual Spring Breakout game that took place on March 20. That game marked the unofficial professional debut for Seth Hernandez, the Pirates' first-round pick in 2025 who was tabbed as the team's starting pitcher in that game.

Pirates fans could not wait to see Hernandez finally pitch in a game setting, and he wasted no time stealing the show and putting his name on the map. Toeing the rubber in the top of the first inning, his very first pitch of the game clocked in at an absurd 102.4 MPH and left Tigers top prospect Max Clark awestruck in the batter's box.

Hernandez was clearly amped up, issuing a pair of walks in his lone inning of work, but a strikeout and a double play got him out of the inning unscathed. His electric fastball and knee-buckling secondary pitches left everyone watching, Pirates fans or otherwise, asking the same question: "How on earth was this guy only drafted No. 6 overall?"

The answer is actually pretty simple — he was a high school pitching prospect. High school pitchers are considered the riskiest demographic to draft, especially with a top pick. Pitchers are only throwing harder and harder, even at youth levels, making them more susceptible to a significant injury. And compared to their college-aged counterparts, high school pitchers are typically at least two or three years further away from reaching the major leagues. Many teams don't want to use such a high pick (and thus a seven-figure signing bonus) on that risky of an investment.

Hernandez was the sixth player taken in last year's draft, but he was the fourth pitcher, and all three arms taken ahead of him were drafted out of college. The last time a high school pitcher was drafted that high was in 2021, when the Tigers used the third overall pick on Jackson Jobe. The Pirates don't seem overly concerned, and that's not just about Hernandez — they've aggressively drafted and successfully developed high school pitching for quite some time.

Seth Hernandez is the latest example of the Pirates' success with high school pitchers

There are 13 starting pitchers across all of MLB who were drafted out of high school, are still with the team that drafted them, and, according to FanGraphs' 2026 playing time projections, are projected to be one of their team's primary starting pitchers this season. The Pirates have four of them — Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, and Jared Jones.

In fact, since 2014, when the Pirates took Keller in the second round, no team has used more top-100 draft picks on high school arms than Pittsburgh:

While the Pirates continue to benefit from this strategy, its roots were planted by the previous regime. Chandler and Jones (and, obviously, Hernandez) were drafted by Ben Cherington, but Keller and Ashcraft were carryovers from Neal Huntington, the previous general manager.

The Pirates' success with prep pitchers is not limited to those who are still with the team. Huntington also drafted Mike Burrows (who was actually an 11th-round pick and, thus, didn't count toward the aforementioned 16 draftees), who parlayed major league success last season into an offseason trade that netted the Pirates three quality players.

Cherington's predecessor was also responsible for first-round picks in Quinn Priester — whom the Pirates developed and traded for Nick Yorke — and Shane Baz, who infamously never made it to Pittsburgh but appears poised to finally break out in 2026.

Teams can still stand to benefit from drafting high schoolers even if they don't sign, choosing instead to honor their college commitments. This is the case with the Pirates after the team used their second-round pick (No. 50 overall) on Angel Cervantes last season. Due to Cervantes not signing, the Pirates are guaranteed the 51st pick in this year's draft, so Cherington and co. will have another opportunity to add more talent to the organization.

The Pirates have become one of the better pitching development organizations in the sport in recent years, and for obvious reasons. But behind Paul Skenes are a ton of high school success stories, many of whom are expected to play key roles for a competitive Pirates team in 2026.

Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones, and Braxton Ashcraft each look like excellent pitchers, but Hernandez could become the best of the bunch. Drafting and developnig high school pitchers is a gamble, but the Pirates do it better than anyone.