Three First Round Picks Among Four Panther Draftees
BY JIM FORBES, PUBLISHER
MLB Top 10
For the first time in the history of the Major League Baseball draft, two high school teammates were selected with the first 10 picks this past Sunday, Seth Hernandez and Billy Carlson of the Corona High Panthers.
A right-handed pitcher, Hernandez, ranked the #2 prospect overall by Baseball America, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 6th overall pick. Carlson, considered by many the top defensive shortstop in the draft and ranked #9 by Baseball America, was the 10th overall pick by the Chicago White Sox.
Additional Draft Picks
The Panthers werenʻt done. Third-baseman/shortstop Brady Ebell went to the Milwaukee Brewers with the 32nd pick, making it three first-rounders, also a first. And outfielder/infielder/pitcher Ethin Bingaman was taken in the 20th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Corona was ranked #1 in the state and nationally for much of the season and seemed destined for a CIF-SS championship game against a powerful Encino Crespi squad. Both were upset in the semi-finals.
Pro and college scouts were ever-present at Panther games throughout the season, as they have been for years, following these players.
Hernandez has been on the national radar as one of the elite arms in the class of 2025 for years, with an easy fastball that sits in the high 90ʻs, complemented by a fall-off-the-table changeup. Heʻll be joining a Pirate organization that has several top-shelf young arms starting with El Toro High grad Paul Skenes, an all-star already dominating the National League.
While a highly effective pitcher as well as a plus hitter, Carlson possesses Gold Glove talent at shortstop, his arm and glove each garnering 70 out of 80 ratings. The White Sox have a storied history of great shortstops from Luke Appling to Luis Aparicio to Ozzie Guillen.
Though Ebell played this season as a 17-year-old, he turns 18 next Friday, he has displayed polished skills at the plate and a high baseball IQ throughout his high school career. In deference to Carlsonʻs glove, Ebell moved from short to 3rd base, but many consider him a shortstop. His dad is Dodgers 3rd base coach Dino Ebell.
Bingaman, who has been scouted as both a hitter and pitcher, has a commitment to play for Auburn should he decide to delay turning pro. He transferred to Corona from Arrowhead Christian Academy for his senior year.
Of the five high school teams that have had two first-rounders in the same draft, three are located in Southern California. As this year with Corona, in 2007, the left side of Chatsworth’s infield went in the first round. Shortstop Matt Moustakas was the 2ndoverall pick, and third baseman Matt Dominguez went 12th.
Five years later, Harvard-Westlake pitchers Max Fried (7) and Lucas Giolito (16) were first-rounders. All four have had or are still having successful pro careers.
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