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PITTSBURGH --The Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday named Seth Hernandez as the organization's Bob Friend Pitcher of the Year.
The 20-year-old Hernandez was a combined 6-1 with a 2.43 ERA, 118 strikeouts, a .181 batting average against and a 1.05 WHIP in 18 starts between Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro in his first professional season in 2026. The righty, who is currently rated by MLB Pipeline as Pittsburgh's No. 1 prospect, is also rated No. 9 among Pipeline's top-100 prospects in baseball (he is also currently rated by Pipeline as the No. 1 right-handed pitching prospect in baseball).
Hernandez began the season with Bradenton, where he went 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA, 50 strikeouts, a .135 batting average against and a 0.71 WHIP in six starts. He led Minor League Baseball in strikeouts, while also ranking third among qualifiers in ERA and WHIP, as well as fourth in batting average against, in his time with the Marauders. His 68 strikeouts during his time with the Grasshoppers were tied for the second-most in the South Atlantic League and tied for the third-most among all High-A pitchers.
The Pirates selected Hernandez out of Corona High School in the first round (No. 6 overall) of the 2025 MLB Draft.
In other awards news, the Pirates named Murf Gray as the organization's Honus Wagner Player of the Year. He was named the Willie Stargell Slugger Award winner on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Gray hit a combined .305 (143-for-469) with 27 doubles, 32 home runs, 97 RBIs, 66 walks, a .402 on-base percentage, a .567 slugging percentage, a .969 OPS and 100 runs scored in his 126 games split between Low-A Bradenton (38 games), High-A Greensboro (43 games) and Double-A Altoona (45 games) during his first pro season.
Gray, who was selected by Pittsburgh out of Fresno State the Competitive Balance-B round of the 2025 MLB Draft, is rated by MLB Pipeline as the Pirates' No. 4 prospect (No. 89 prospect in baseball). He is also rated as the No. 3 third base prospect in baseball.