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With the eighth overall pick, the Blue Jays could select… Seth Hernandez?
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jun 30, 2025, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 30, 2025, 04:00 EDT
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The last time the Toronto Blue Jays selected a high school pitcher was back in 2022.
That year, they selected left-handed pitcher Brandon Barriera 23rd overall. Unfortunately, injuries have hampered his professional career thus far, and when healthy, the 21-year-old has looked okay at best.
There’s a lot of risk in taking a prep pitcher, but if Seth Hernandez drops to the Blue Jays, there’s a good chance he’ll be the best player available. If you missed the last draft profile, we looked at Aiva Arquette.

Seth Hernandez’s bio

Hernandez is a right-handed pitcher who stands at 6’4”, 190 lbs. He recently turned 19 years old and attended Corona High School in California. If that high school sounds familiar, he was teammates with shortstop and top 10 ranked draft prospect, Billy Carlson.
As noted in that article, the Jays have never selected a player from Corona High School, but have selected 170 players from high schools in California, with 62 of them signing the dotted line. The Jays have selected six prep players from California in the first round. Moreover, one of their former prospects, Samad Taylor, was drafted out of Corona High School.
Hernandez is committed to Vanderbilt and is one of the older prep prospects in the 2025 draft.

Seth Hernandez’s tools

Hernandez ranks as MLB Pipeline’s third-best draft-eligible prospect. What stands out the most is his booming fastball that sits in the mid-90s, but touches as high as 99 mph. He has a plus changeup, which is his best secondary pitch thanks to good action. Hernandez also features a spinny curveball and above-average changeup with above-average control.
There’s a lot to like about the athletic righty, and he’s easily the best prep pitcher in this draft.

Seth Hernandez’s grades

As always, here are Hernandez’s grades courtesy of MLB Pipeline.
Tools
Grade
Fastball
70
Curveball
60
Changeup
60
Slider
55
Control
55

Will the Blue Jays select Seth Hernandez?

As stated earlier, there’s a lot of risk when drafting high school pitchers as they usually aren’t polished and aren’t facing the best competition. But Hernandez’s stuff is legit, you don’t need polish to throw a 98 mph fastball with plus secondary pitches and above-average command. There aren’t a lot of concerns about the 19-year-old.
If he falls to the Blue Jays, which is a realistic possibility, his ceiling may be way too hard to turn down. For context, MLB Pipeline’s most recent mock draft had Hernandez falling to ninth, but it notes that the Jays could select him if he falls.
A prep bat or collegiate pitcher may be the better floor, but if Hernandez falls to the Jays, there’s a strong possibility he has the strongest ceiling of any player available.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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