Latest Seth Hernandez Injury News Puts Rest of Season in Jeopardy

The young hurler has been one of the most exciting prospects to watch in 2026

Jul 22, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; The Pittsburgh Pirates' first-round and number six overall pick in the 2025 first-year player draft, Seth Hernandez, looks on before the game against the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitching prospect Seth Hernandez's first season in the minor leagues reportedly could be over.

Hernandez, MLB Pipeline's No. 6 overall prospect for 2026, was placed on the seven-day injured list earlier this week by the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers due to a "left oblique issue," according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. And now, according to MLB.com's Aiden Stepansky, the 20-year-old is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks with an oblique strain. As Stepansky points out, this estimated timeline will likely make it difficult for the hard-throwing righty to return to the mound before the minor league season wraps up.

If Hernandez has, in fact, thrown his final pitch of 2026, that's an unfortunate end to the first year in the young hurler's professional career. But as he showcased multiple times this season, the 6-foot-4 flamethrower appears to have an incredibly bright future ahead of him.

Seth Hernandez kicked off his pro career with a bang

Jul 12, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; National League pitcher Seth Hernandez (22) throws a pitch against the American League in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

First and foremost, the silver lining in this situation is that Hernandez isn't dealing with an arm injury. While oblique injuries can be tricky, the 20-year-old should have plenty of time to fully recover ahead of next season, even if he does miss the remainder of the 2026 campaign.

If Hernandez's season is over, he'll finish his first year in the minors with a 2.43 ERA in 18 starts, as well as 118 strikeouts in 74 innings. After the Pirates selected the young righty with the sixth-overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of high school, he made his minor league debut this April at Single-A. And in six Single-A starts, the hard-throwing hurler posted a 0.96 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 28 innings.

Following that stellar stretch in Single-A, Hernandez was bumped up to High-A in May. In 12 starts for Greensboro, the talented right-hander had a 3.33 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 46 innings. It's possible that the first-round pick could have made his Double-A debut toward the end of the 2026 season before dealing with this oblique injury. But now, Pirates fans will most likely have to wait until 2027 to see the team's top prospect back in action again.