Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Interview with Pitching Prospect Logan Hofmann

The 2020 5th round draft pick has been quite the find for Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates. After winning the Championship with Bradenton, I wanted to ask some questions to our very talented pitching prospect, Logan Hofmann.

Logan Hofmann is not your proto typical pitching prospect. He stands at 5’10″ 190 pounds, but that has not stopped him from dominating in almost every level he has been at. Prior to being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2020 MLB Draft, Hofmann was originally drafted in the 35th round by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2019 draft.

Prior to being drafted Hofmann pitched at and attended Colby Community College. At Colby CC Hofmann appeared in 18 games, started 14 of them and had a record of 8-3 with 3 saves. He pitched 85.2 innings with a 4.94 ERA. In those 18 games, he had 102 strikeouts.

Hofmann decided not to sign with the Cardinals. He stayed in college and transferred to Northwestern State University of Louisiana. In 2020 with Northwestern State, Hofmann appeared and started in 4 games, pitched 28 innings and gave up 0 earned runs. While the rest of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was enough for the Pittsburgh Pirates to be interested in Hofmann.

Hofmann would then declare again for the MLB draft. This is where the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in the 5th round. He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 27th, 2020. His estimated signing bonus with the Pirates was for $125,000.

In 2021, Hofmann has been a cornerstone for the Bradenton pitching staff. He appeared in 22 games where he started 13 of them. He pitched a total of 82.2 innings and had a total of 103 strikeouts to only 33 walks. He finished the year with 3.59 era and a 6-4 record.

After the season, I caught up with up with Logan Hofmann and asked him few questions about his life, baseball and how first professional season went for him. Here is how it went.

Interview with right-handed Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Logan Hofmann

Kody:”What were your first initial thoughts when you got drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates?”

Logan: “My initial thoughts when I got drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates was just pure joy and excitement to get my pro career started. Obviously there was a little bit of a delay to that with the season being canceled last year but I’m glad I got the opportunity to throw a full season this year.”

Kody: “How do you think your season went overall for your first full year as a professional?”

Logan: “I thought my first season went well. It was definitely an adjustment for me from college just with all the games and being out there everyday takes a toll on your body. I think as the season went on I learned how to manage the workload better, but everything is a learning experience in baseball.“

Kody: “What improvements are you trying to work on this off-season?”

Logan: “This off-season I’m going to try and get in even better shape so I feel strong and conditioned for the full season next year. If I’m being honest, I didn’t think this season was going to take as much of a toll on my body as it did. The Florida heat is tough to get used to but I just had to deal with it. From a pitching standpoint, I really want to command my fastball better as well as my curveball because I struggled with that pitch at times this year.”

Kody: “What is your goal for the 2022 season?”

Logan: “My goal for next year is the same as it is going into every season for me. Just go out there and compete with my best stuff. If I don’t have it that day, make an adjustment and find a way to get outs because that’s my job as a pitcher. Another goal of mine next year is to learn more from my mistakes and try not to make them again throughout the season. And finally, just to stay healthy, do what the strength coaches, pitching coaches, and trainers have planned for me when it comes to recovery and trust them with it.”

Kody: “What is your most comfortable pitch to throw in a game?”

Logan: “I would say for the first half of this year my curveball was my best pitch and I felt comfortable throwing it whenever. As the season went on, I struggled with getting the feel for it which hasn’t happened to me before. But I had to make an adjustment and I thought I did a great job of utilizing my changeup the last month or two of the season when I might have not had my best stuff otherwise.”

Kody: “What got you into baseball as a kid growing up in Canada?”

Logan: “Growing up in a small town of 450 people in the province of Saskatchewan in Canada was the best. In the summer everyone played baseball and in the winter you played hockey. That was just the normal growing up so I played both for 13 years before sticking with baseball moving on to college. The baseball fields are in the middle of Muenster (town where I grew up) and every night you walk by them in the summer there is a game or practice going on. And if there isn’t, there will be some kids out there doing some type of baseball activity. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to grow up and can’t thank everyone enough for the support I have gotten this far.”

Kody: “What is the major difference you see from the college to professional level?”

Logan: “I think the biggest thing from college to pro ball is the amount of games. It’s twice as many games as college so you need to learn how to adapt and keep your body feeling healthy and fresh. In terms of pitching, I feel like everyone in pro ball can throw a few pitches for strikes and get outs in different ways to every hitter. Whereas in college you could get away with missing a spot every now and then, but in pro ball it’s going to get hit which I found out a little bit this year.”

Kody: “Generally speaking, what do you see as a pitcher that you need to do to move up on the professional level?”
Logan: “I would say to move up I need to just continue to stay true to who I am as a pitcher and not try to be someone I’m not. Need to have my 4 pitches for strikes and attack with any pitch in any count. I also would say I just to learn as much as I possibly can about getting guys out and where my stuff plays best and when the right time is to throw a certain pitch.”