Muenster pitcher feels good heading into draft
College student has been working out at field near home since season cut short
MLB prospect Logan Hofmann is seeing more walks than strikeouts these days.
But that’s fine by him, as the Muenster ball diamond is only a two-minute walk from his home.
As baseball remains in limbo — stuck on-deck in Saskatchewan due to the COVID-19 pandemic — Hofmann is still managing to work on his pitching craft as he heads into this week’s 2020 Major League Baseball Draft.
He’ll either play catch with his dad, Chad, or head to the nearby ball diamond to work the bullpen with his friend as his catcher.
“One of my buddies (Rylan Marianchuk) comes and catches my bullpen,” explains Hofmann, who lists himself at 5-foot-10 (but admits he’s closer to 5-foot-9) and 185 pounds.
“I’ve been just working out, throwing bullpen, that kind of thing. Going forward, we’ll kind of see what happens here and make a plan from there, whether it’s to stay here and train or go somewhere else and train — I’m not too sure what expect.”
Last year, Hofmann was selected in the 35th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He never signed. Instead, he chose to re-enter the draft in 2020 and boost his stock by making the transition from Colby Community College in Kansas, Mo., to Northwestern State University in Louisiana, where he enjoyed a stellar season with the Demons and earned second-team all-american status.
With the 2020 MLB Draft reduced to only five rounds, there is no guarantee that Hofmann will get drafted. Given the success he had this season, there’s a chance.
Hofmann says he’s good either way.
“Obviously it’s only five rounds — a lot shorter than last year (40 rounds) — so I don’t know. I don’t really know what to expect,” he said.
“I’ve been talking to quite a few teams. I’m really not sure what’s going to happen. I guess we’ll see on Thursday.”
If a player isn’t drafted through the five rounds, there is extended free agent signing for MLB teams this year. Yet Hofmann said he wouldn’t sign as a free agent. He would be happy returning to Northwestern to finish out what will still be considered his junior season.
“If I didn’t get drafted, I’d go back to school,” he said. “If I am picked, I’m ready for a pro career; if I’m not picked, I’ve got a really good option in going back to school and doing well again next year.”
Hofmann made the transition from junior college to the NCAA ranks an easy one this past year.
In his first season at Northwestern State, the right-handed pitcher got four starts and struck out 38 batters without allowing a single earned run through 28 innings before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short.
Nevertheless, Hofmann was named a second-team all-american.
“It was a really fun year," he said. "I obviously had success. It makes it even better. It felt good in all four starts. I’m really looking forward to how the year played out (with the MLB Draft)."
He saw some noticeable improvement in different aspects of his game, from increased velocity for his fastball — from 88-92 miles per hour to 90-94 MPH — to much greater demand and control of his pitches.
“My off-speed, I felt I could throw it for a strike or I could throw it in the dirt to get a guy to chase out of the (strike) zone, I felt like I could command all four pitches, not just being able to throw for a strike but being able to locate all four pitches in different areas in pretty much any count."
He credits that development to playing summer ball a year ago at Cape Cod followed by the coaching at Northwestern State.
"We just upped my workouts and upped my sequences on the mound, so we kind of added different elements rather than just general fastballs-up and curve ballsin-the-dirt for strikes. We added a whole bunch of different elements and I feel like my command of all four of my pitches (fastball, curve, slider and change-up) felt really good compared to past years where they felt pretty good.
“It just made me that much of a better pitcher.”
The 2020 MLB draft goes Wednesday and Thursday. TSN will have live coverage of both days.
I’ve been talking to quite a few teams. I’m really not sure what’s going to happen. I guess we’ll see on Thursday.