Pirates Get Cautionary Sign From Seth Hernandez
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PITTSBURGH — Future Pittsburgh Pirates ace Seth Hernandez is one of the most exciting talents in baseball, but isn't quite the perfect pitcher just yet.
Hernandez struggled in his most recent start with High-A Greensboro, making his home debut against Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox) at First National Bank Park on May 22.
The Pirates star pitching prospect allowed three solo home runs and walked four batters, while posting five strikeouts over just 2.2 innings and 67 pitches against Winston-Salem, before leaving the game before the end of the third inning.
It was a rare mishap for Hernandez, with this the shortest outing of his career, showing that it'll take time before he's a finished product.
How Hernandez Struggled Vs. Winston-Salem
Hernandez walked the first batter he faced, despite two of the called balls in the strike zone, but would bounce back and got back-to-back strikeouts to finish the first inning.
He then allowed his first home run of the game to Winston-Salem center fielder George Wolkow, who got on a fastball and just hit it over the right field wall.
The first run given up in A+ for Pirates star prospect Seth Hernandez comes off a frozen rope HR by George Wolkow.
— Dylan Barnas (@NotCease) May 22, 2026
113 MPH bulleted over the fence.
King George has been on some kind of heater lately… @FutureSox pic.twitter.com/BqZ6ETBRex
Hernandez bounced back with a strikeout, then walked a batter, who Greensboro catcher Easton Carmichael threw out at second base,before giving up his second home run to first baseman Arxy Hernandez, leaving a pitch down in the low strike zone that the Winston Salem slugger easily put over the right field wall.
His second inning came to an end with a strikeout then started the third inning with another strikeout and a fly out as well.
Hernandez didn't get out of the inning, as he allowed his third home run, this one to designated hitter Boston Smith, who crushed a fastball up and in over the right field wall to make it 3-2 Winston Salem.
He would walk the next two batters on a combined 13 pitches, before left-handed pitcher Connor Oliver came in and relieved him, ending his outing.
What Hernandez Needs to Fix Before His Next Start
One main unifier for Hernandez on all three of his home runs is that they came against left-handed hitters.
Hernandez will most likely struggle more so against lefties than righties, as is usually the case for a right-handed pitcher, but it's a bit concerning when lefties have that much success.
His debut for Greensboro was much better, striking out seven batters over five no-hit innings against Jersey Shore (Philadelphia Phillies) back on the road on May 15.
Hernandez still walked four batters and has now walked nine batters total in his first two starts at High-A. He only walked seven batters in six starts and 28 innings pitched for Single-A Bradenton, before his promotion.
This is one of the obstacles that Hernandez was going to face at High-A, especially with better hitters who aren't going to just swing and miss at whatever he throws from his incredible pitch mix.
Hernandez will also learn that his new home confines are not beneficial to pitchers at all and a big boon to hitters.
First National Bank Park has its left field foul pole and left field jog at 315/322 feet, while the right field foul pole/right field job at 312/320 feet. The center field wall is 400 feet, but left-center and right-center are just 365/362 feet.
All of these challenges will make Hernandez a much better pitcher and he was bound to have a poor outing eventually.
The 19-year old is still in good shape, but he'll definitely have to learn from this start, forget about and go on to the next one.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.