All you need to know about the calibre of pitcher Logan Hofmann is compared to the average Midget AAA or Bantam AAA hitter in Moose Jaw could be seen in his live bullpen session at the Sowden Flanagan Baseball Training facility on Wednesday afternoon.
Not only did none of the players manage an actual hit in the batting cage, only a couple of the dozen or so taking part in the special training opportunity were able to make contact.
And Hofmann estimated he was only going at around 80 per cent or so.
Turns out, when you’re a fifth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the highest-ever selection for a player from Saskatchewan in the Major League Baseball Draft, you can pretty much mow down players four and five years your junior at will.
That kind of fun and games aside, Hofmann was in town to put in a bit of work while also offering a few tips and tricks to the handful of youngsters taking part in the event.
“Craig (Flanagan) called me to come down here and check out the facility and I figured I could get some throwing in too, so it worked out well,” Hofmann said prior to throwing an inning or two worth of pitches in the session. “One thing I love is giving back to younger baseball players in our province, now that they have access to great facilities it’s easier to get that work in and it’s a chance to give back. So I’m really happy I’m here.”
Hofmann is plenty familiar with Moose Jaw, having suited up for the Miller Express in the 2018 season, posting a 4-1 record and striking out 21 against eight walks and only six hits.
“It was a good stepping stone for me after my first year of college, there were older players in the league so it was really good for me to get my development in, get some innings in against some higher-level college hitters,” Hofmann said of his summer in the Friendly City. “It forced me to put the work into being able to face those guys and pitch at a higher level.”
That was proto-Hofmann, though. And it would be what he did this past season that seriously put him on the baseball map.
Suiting up for the NCAA Division I Northwestern State Demons, Hofmann went 4-0 and didn’t allow an earned run, with his total of 28 scoreless innings the best in the NCAA. And the youngsters he faced Wednesday had a lot in common with NCAA hitters -- Hofmann had at least nine strikeouts an outing, twice fanning 11 while allowing only 14 hits.
That led to NCAA All-American honours, and that led Pittsburgh to draft the Muenster native in the fifth round, 138th overall in the 2020 MLB Draft back in June.
If you think that whole experience is a touch surreal, you’d be right.
“I’d say a little bit,” Hofmann said with a laugh. “Now that I have more going on, doing different lessons and coaching, I guess people look up to me a little more now. It has sunk in, but at the same time it hasn’t because we haven’t been able to play yet. I think once we get out in the minor leagues and that kind of thing, it’ll really start to sink in more.”
The fact Hofmann was in Moose Jaw at all was a product of the COVID-19 pandemic: with minor league baseball shut down, the 20-year-old decided to make the trip down south with dad Chad – himself a highly respected coach in the province – and get in a bit of a change of scenery.
“Right now, I’m just working out and training, that kind of thing every day,” Hofmann said. “I’m actually going back to the school I was at this fall and take classes since there’s no minor league season. So I’ll try and finish up my degree and see what happens from there.”
Losing the summer isn’t too much of a concern given the time he’s been able to put in during the off-season.
“I’ve been able to get my workouts in and run and throw, that kind of thing, so I don’t think it’s going to affect me too much,” he said. “You kind of have to just keep doing what you did all fall in college before the season, so it’s just kind of a longer version that.”
