MLB Draft Profile - RHP Seth Hernandez, Corona HS (California)
Can the Reds land perhaps the top prospect in the class with the 9th overall pick?
The 2025 Major League Baseball Draft commences on Sunday, July 13th at 6:00 PM ET, and the Cincinnati Reds hold the 9th pick of the 1st round. That leaves them in a distinctly different strategic scenario than they were just last year, when they focused in on Wake Forest RHP Chase Burns with the #2 overall pick knowing far fewer things had to go right for them to get ‘their’ guy.
That brings us to RHP Seth Hernandez out of Corona High School in Chino, California. The 6’4” Vanderbilt commit is almost universally considered the top pitching prospect in the prep ranks - and perhaps the top prep prospect overall. Perfect Game, for instance, lists him as the #1 RHP prospect and #2 overall in their national rankings, while MLB Pipeline considers him the #3 overall prospect (and top arm in the high school ranks) in their own list of the top draft-eligible prospects.
The Reds, as you might expect, are connected to Hernandez, as are many other teams who are drafting ahead of them. The caveat here, though, is that some teams have much, much more hardline rules around selecting high school righties than the Reds have shown in the past, as those players are both a) historically volatile with their development and b) typically demand bigger draft bonuses to talk them out of their college commitments.
Hernandez as a political football keeps him in consideration for the Reds with the 9th pick, as Cincinnati would likely jump at the chance to select him (and throw an overslot bonus his way) should other teams put more priority on their overall draft class than their top pick alone. That’s because Hernandez the prospect owns a 70-grade fastball that can reach triple-digits while also already showing great command of three additional pitches, too.
Baseball America, in their scouting report, suggests there’s still very much a chance that Hernandez becomes the first ever prep RHP to go #1 overall. That said, the Washington Nationals - who own the top pick - just canned their longtime front office head in Mike Rizzo and will be entrusting an interim GM with their draft decisions, so the odds of them making that kind of monumental pick seem iffy. Melissa Lockard and Dhani Joseph of The Athletic broke down why in an excellent deep dive released earlier on Monday.
Prospects1500 lists Hernandez as their #1 overall prospect in their most recent Top 250 overall.
In a wide-ranging preview of top prep players, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel call’s Hernandez’s changeup ‘plus-plus’ while noting the advancement of his curveball over the last year. McDaniel also has the Reds selecting Hernandez #9 overall in his latest mock draft, too.
Before getting your hopes up too, too much, MLB.com’s latest mock has the Seattle Mariners taking Hernandez at #3 overall. However, they note there the same considerations I’ve laid out already, and note that with the #9 pick Hernandez would absolutely be in consideration by the Reds if he were still available (they have Cincinnati selecting Hernandez’s shorstop teammate Billy Carlson here, however).
Further denting hopes is Keith Law of The Athletic, who lists Hernandez as his #21 overall player in this draft class. That said, he also has Hernandez going off the board 7th overall (to the Miami Marlins) in his most recent mock draft, with the Reds then taking catcher Ike Irish of Auburn University with pick #9.
Hernandez is, quite simply, the biggest wild card in this particular draft - not because his talent is questionable, but because he’s so talented that he’s making front offices across the league question just how hard and fast they’ll stick to the unspoken rule of avoiding prep righties at the top of Round 1. The hope around here, of course, is that they overthink things just enough for Hernandez to fall into the Reds lap 9th overall.
Here’s JJ Cooper, Carlos Collazo, and Scott Braun of Baseball America breaking down Seth Hernandez on video, with ample footage of his delivery.