Pirates pick another right-handed pitcher in 5th round in Northwestern State's Logan Hofmann

With their final pick of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t pull any surprises. Once again, they went with a right-handed pitcher.

The Pirates chose Logan Hofmann of Northwestern State on Thursday night in the fifth found (No. 138), giving them five righties in six picks.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Hofmann, a native of Saskatchewan, shined last summer in the Cape Cod league, and was 4-0 with no earned runs, 38 strikeouts and five walks in 28 innings for Northwestern State this spring.

Hofmann was a 35th-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals last year after two seasons at Colby Community College, where he was 8-4 with a 3.11 ERA and 128 strikeouts against 21 walks in 89⅔ innings in 2019.

With our 5th round pick (138th overall) of the #MLBDraft we have selected Logan Hofmann from Northwestern State. pic.twitter.com/7nqSAX7kaz

— Pirates (@Pirates) June 12, 2020

The Pirates selected New Mexico State shortstop Nick Gonzales in the first round, then made a run on right-handers with Carmen Mlodzinski of South Carolina in the competitive balance round, Jared Jones of La Mirada (Calif.) High School in the second, Nick Garcia of Chapman University in the third and Jack Hartman of Appalachian State in the fourth.

MLB Network analyst Jim Callis called it a “very impressive draft class,” but suggested that the Pirates’ final two picks were designed to give them flexibility on how to spend their $11,154,500 bonus pool.

“I think what they’re doing here with Logan Hofmann and Jack Hartman, the previous pick, is they’re saving some money here to pay Mlodzinski in the competitive balance round and Jared Jones in the second round,” Callis said.