Pittsburgh Pirates: Four Unsung Minor League Performances

Pitcher Logan Hofmann

The deepest and most impressive part of the Pirate farm system is their pitching depth. Sure, Roansy Contreras, Quinn Priester, Miguel Yajure, Carmen Mlodzinski, as well as a handful of others have gotten more attention this year. But with so many good pitching prospects, some are bound to be swept under the rug unintentionally. One of them was Logan Hofmann.

Hofmann was the Pirates’ 5th round pick in 2020. The right-hander ended his college career with 28 straight innings without allowing an earned run. Hofmann ended up putting up some solid numbers down at A-Ball Bradenton. He posted a 3.59 ERA, 4.68 FIP, and 1.11 WHIP through 82.2 innings of work. Hofmann was used as a swingman, starting 13 games and appearing in 22 total.

Now Hofmann’s home run and walk numbers weren’t great. He had a 9.6% walk rate and 1.31 HR/9. But they weren’t bad by any means either. Plus he had a strong 29.9% strikeout rate. Despite his higher home run rate, he still had a quality 44.3% ground ball rate and line-drive rate of just 16.7%. His xFIP ended up being a much lower 4.05 mark.

Hofmann isn’t a very hard thrower, only averaging 90-93 MPH. But he gets plenty of swings and misses despite his lack of overpowering velocity. But it does have some movement. He pairs that with a big looping curveball. This offering comes in around the upper-70’s. It’s another pitch that he’s gotten plenty of strikeouts with.

Hofmann might need to refine his control, but his stuff is already pretty good. Next year will be his age-21 season and should get things started out at High-A. He (along with many others) could be an impactful arm by the 2023 season.