LOS ANGELES — Pittsburgh, meet your potential future beast on the mound.

Again.

With the No. 6 pick in the 2025 MLB draft, the Pirates selected Seth Hernandez, a right-hander from Corona High School who many scouts believed was the top overall pitcher in the class.

His Corona teammate, shortstop Billy Carlson, was selected 10th overall by the Chicago White Sox.

Hernandez, 19, didn’t pitch in front of crowds until his junior year — he was home-schooled until then. But once he joined head coach Andy Wise’s powerhouse program in Corona, he made up for lost time.

As a junior, he went 9-0 with a 0.62 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 56 innings. His senior year was even more dominant: 105 strikeouts in just over 53 innings, only seven walks, and a 0.39 ERA.

The accolades matched the numbers. He was named MVP of the National High School Invitational after throwing a complete-game shutout in the title game in 2024. Then 2025 High School Gatorade National Player of the Year.

“He wasn’t just one of the best pitchers in the country, but one of the best baseball players,” Wise said. “I call him the best I’ve ever been around.”

Hernandez also hit .352 with eight home runs as a junior, but Pittsburgh is betting on his future in the rotation.

It’s a team in turmoil. Pittsburgh, 39-58 at the All-Star break, sits 18 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs atop the division. Their roster sports just one notable name who made the all-star game, Paul Skenes. He’s widely regarded as the best pitcher in baseball and now serves as the leader of the path Hernandez will walk in the Steel City.

Hernandez could one day bring more star power and become a cornerstone in Pittsburgh’s push back toward league relevancy.

Carlson, a 19-year-old Tennessee commit, soared up draft boards over his past two high school seasons, on the back of his consistent play at the plate.

His senior year, while Hernandez was shutting down offenses on the plate, Carlson was hitting .365 with a .517 on-base percentage, six home runs, and a .647 slugging clip.

Carlson was born in Corona, having started on the freshman team for Wise’s program. His work ethic and drive spearhead his ascension to a first-round MLB pick.

“(Carlson) was a freshman who spent some time on the freshman team here,” Wise said. “It’s not like he walked in and demanded anything. He worked hard and believed in what we were doing, and his development went through the roof, and he’s turned himself into what he is today.”

Carlson is one of four prospects from Corona ranked in the top 250 of MiLB’s pre-draft rankings, along with Hernandez, third baseman Brady Ebel (No. 64, and right-handed pitcher/outfielder Ethin Bingaman (No. 150).

Carlson was described on the ESPN broadcast as a “slightly toned down version” of Royals all-star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who is lauded as one of the best in the league. High praise and a hopeful translation for the White Sox organization, desperate for star power and better fortunes.

Third baseman Brady Ebel closed a big first round for the Panthers program when he was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers at No. 32 with a conditional first-round pick.

At 17 years old, Ebel is the youngest of the trio but lacks no less talent at the plate. Wise saw him as the offensive spark plug for the Panthers.

After spending his first two high school seasons at Etiwanda High, Ebel finished his senior season at Corona, hitting .341 with a .504 on-base percentage, 31 hits, 27 runs, and 17 RBIs.

He’s the son of the Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel.

Before Sunday, the school had previously produced four draft picks in school history: outfielder Mike Darr (2nd round, 1994), right-hander Joe Kelly (3rd round, 2009), infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor (10th round, 2016) and right-hander Tristan Beck (4th round, 2018).

Great Oak’s Fien selected 12th

Great Oak third baseman Gavin Fien was selected with the 12th pick by the Texas Rangers

The Texas commit from Southern California will be staying in the Lone Star State regardless.

He was widely considered one of the premier right-handers in the draft class.

Fien earned MVP honors at the MLB Develops High School All-American Game with two hits and two RBIs. He then batted .400 for Team USA during the 18U World Cup qualifier in Panama, squaring up arms from all over the world with proficiency.

Fien lit up his senior season at Great Oak, hitting .358 with 34 knocks, 24 runs, five homers and 16 RBIs.

The bloodlines run deep. His father, Ryan Fien, was drafted by the Cubs in 1996 and quarterbacked at both UCLA and Idaho. His older brother, Dylan, a switch-hitting catcher from the same high school, signed an over-slot deal with the A’s after going in the seventh round last year.

Other locals

No. 50 Angel Cervantes, RHP (Warren, committed to UCLA) to the Pittsburgh Pirates

No. 54 Quentin Young 3B/OF (Oaks Christian, committed to LSU) to the Minnesota Twins

No. 64 Dean Curley SS (Northview, Tennessee) to the Cleveland Guardians

No. 77 Ethan Hedges 3B/RHP (USC) to the Colorado Rockies

No. 87 Anthony Eyanson RHP (Lakewood, LSU) to the Boston Red Sox

No. 89 Jack Gurevitch 1B (SO Notre Dame, San Diego) to the St. Louis Cardinals

surprise at No. 1

The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick in a selection seen by some as a surprise.

The 17-year-old Willits is the youngest player taken No. 1 overall since Ken Griffey Jr. with Seattle in 1987. He’s the son of ex-big leaguer Reggie Willits, who played six seasons with the Angels and also coached with the New York Yankees.

Willits, from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School, is a switch-hitter who is expected to develop a power swing.

The Angels added another surprise with the No. 2 pick by selecting UC Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner. Seattle followed by taking LSU lefty Kade Anderson.

The Colorado Rockies picked shortstop Ethan Holliday at No. 4, landing the son of longtime Rockies star Matt Holliday. Ethan, from Stillwater, Oklahoma, was a candidate to go first overall, just like brother Jackson Holliday with did with Baltimore in 2022. They would have been the first brothers to be drafted with the first overall pick.

St. Louis selected Tennessee left-hander Liam Doyle at No. 5.