Pirates' Seth Hernandez Dealing With Injury
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PITTSBURGH — Seth Hernandez is the best pitching prospect the Pittsburgh Pirates have, but the team is taking precaution after a recent development.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that Hernandez was dealing with some pain in his left oblique following his most recent outing, when he pitched for High-A Greensboro against Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox) on the road on July 24.
Hernandez only threw three innings, allowing just one hit and hitting a batter, while posting five strikeouts over 54 pitches against Winston-Salem.
Cherington noted that Hernandez was only set for three innings in this start and that they are still learning about this injury.
“It was absolutely a part of his schedule coming out of the All-Star break," Cherington said. "I will add he did feel a little bit of left side, kind of in the oblique area coming out of that outing. So, just so you’re all aware, we’re learning about that. It didn’t affect his outing. It was scheduled for three innings. He reported it the next day.”
Pirates Practicing Caution With Hernandez
There's a lot to like about Hernandez and what he brings as a pitcher, which is why the Pirates took him sixth overall in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Corona High School in Corona, Calif.
Hernandez also just turned 20 years old and still needs time to grow and acclimate to professional baseball, particularly with the innings workload he's undertaking in 2026.
The future Pirates ace pitched less than a combined 110 innings over his junior and senior seasons at Corona High School, and while he also had more innings pitched at showcases, professional baseball and the schedule are much different than that.
Hernandez threw 69 innings over 16 starts between Single-A Bradenton and Greensboro before the All-Star break, where he represented the Pirates on the National League at the Futures Game.
He is currently at 74 pitches after two starts post-All-Star break, but was confident about going further with his innings workload following the Futures Game.
"Solid. I feel like it’s been flying by," Hernandez said at the Futures Game. "I already made more starts than I did last year, more innings, more pitches, a lot of that stuff. The body is holding up well. The mental is holding up well, as well. That’s one of the most important parts."
This injury may be just a small setback for Hernandez, or could keep him out for some time, but either way, the Pirates will make sure to keep their future star pitcher as healthy as they can the rest of 2026.
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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.