Logan Reddemann may have spent his high school days pitching in California’s Antelope Valley, but the Rockies are betting his path has already given him a useful head start for what comes next at Coors Field.
Colorado took the UCLA right-hander with the 38th overall pick in the second round of the 2026 MLB Draft, and Reddemann didn’t miss the irony of chasing a big-league future at a place where the air is a whole lot thinner than the one he grew up in. Quartz Hill High School sat in elevations of 2,500 to 2,650 feet, and he said that background mattered.
“I know it’s almost double that in Denver, but still, learning how to pitch with a little altitude growing up, that’ll help,” Reddemann said. “Oh, it was super windy, and it actually always blew out to center field - definitely favorable for hitting. Even at a young age, I took the mentality that this is a challenge to be more perfect and precise.
“I’ve always been someone who’s fond of a challenge.”
That mindset fits a pitcher the Rockies clearly believe has more than one way to get outs. Reddemann’s rise has been built on a deep mix, better stuff, and the kind of strike-throwing that can separate a college arm from the pack.
In 10 starts for UCLA this season, he put up a 2.87 ERA over 59 2/3 innings and struck out 84 batters. His loudest moment came April 10 at Rutgers, when he punched out 18 hitters to tie Rob Henkel (2000) for the school record in a game. He had already built a reputation for command at the University of San Diego, and at UCLA he kept that edge while adding a lot more bite.
The fastball jump stands out immediately. Reddemann’s heater now sits 95-96 mph and reaches 99, a big step from where he was before.
He backs it up with four secondary pitches, led by an 87-91 mph cutter that works against hitters from both sides of the plate. He also mixes in a mid-80s changeup, plus a low-80s slider and curveball.
The control is part of the package too, graded at 60 on the 20-80 scouting scale.
“He will throw you a cutter, a sweeper, a more traditional curveball and a changeup,” Rockies assistant general manager Tommy Tanous said. “What really stands out is the ability to throw that arsenal and throw it for a strike. So he’s kind of a unique guy - especially in today’s college game, where a lot of pitchers are two-pitch guys throwing very hard but maybe a limited arsenal.”
Reddemann said the jump in stuff wasn’t random. At UCLA, he added 20 pounds in the weight room, and that strength helped drive the velocity increase while also cleaning up his mechanics.
“Starting in the weight room, I put on 20 pounds, and that translated - the strength I gained was the reason for the velocity bump,” he said. “The strength helped me clean up mechanically.
“One of the things I worked on with Savage was improving my extension. That came with getting the lower half stronger, staying more directional to home plate, staying linear. Then Savage calling the pitches and the scouting reports he put on, I felt like it was a master class, per se, of tunneling and working pitches off one another.”
At San Diego, he leaned heavily on a fastball-changeup mix and found success. At UCLA, he became the Friday night starter under John Savage and took another step forward.
Reddemann is the second-ranked Bruin behind Roch Cholowsky, MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 prospect, and he joins a UCLA pipeline that already includes Gerrit Cole of the Yankees, Garrett Mitchell of the Brewers, Jake Bird of the Yankees and Matt McLain of the Reds. With the way his game is built, the Rockies may not have to wait long to see how it plays in pro ball.
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