Rockies add Dick Howser Award winner, strikeout-heavy pitcher with second and third draft picks

Although the Rockies didn’t have the lottery-worthy selection their record would have merited thanks to MLB’s anti-tanking rules, they did make three of the first 38 selections in the 2026 MLB Draft, thanks to a competitive-balance pick and a second-round opening selection that came before the first-round picks of the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers thanks to luxury-tax rules.

After selecting Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell at No. 10 overall, the Rockies chose Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson and UCLA pitcher Logan Reddemann with consecutive picks at the No. 37 and 38 spots.

The 37th pick was a competitive-balance selection; the  38th choice held by the Rockies was officially the initial pick of the second round.

Jackson was the most decorated player in college baseball this season, winning the Dick Howser Trophy given to college baseball’s top player, the Golden Spikes Award issued to the top amateur baseball player in the nation, and the Buster Posey Award, bestowed upon the best catcher in college baseball. He was also the SEC Player of the Year, to boot.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Jackson exploded this past season for the Bulldogs. In his junior campaign — following a 2025 season at UGA and a 2024 season at Wofford before transferring — Jackson hit 32 home runs, a total only exceeded in Georgia baseball history by 2024 Rockies first-round pick Charlie Condon, who clubbed 37 homers in his final season before being drafted.

DANIEL JACKSON GRAND SLAM‼️‼️‼️‼️

B2 | UGA 5, SC 1#GoDawgs | @Djackson2100 pic.twitter.com/lLU1YFAiCa

— Georgia Baseball (@BaseballUGA) March 27, 2026

Reddemann went 8-0 with a 2.87 ERA over 10 starts, helping UCLA to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament after transferring from the University of San Diego. But he did not pitch after April 17 of this season due to what was announced as “arm fatigue.”

Prior to his season ending, Reddemann improved his K/9 rate from 8.9 in 2025 at USD to 1.4 in 2026. His fastball is consistently at 96 MPH, but has been clocked as high as 95 MPH. He also has developed a cutter that he used frequently this past season to great effect.

Highlighting Reddemann’s junior season was an 18-strikeout performance against Rutgers in what proved to be his pentultimate collegiate start. He had a pair of other 10-striketout games this season, too, and finished the season with a 7.64 K/BB rate.

LOGAN. REDDEMANN.

He matches the UCLA single-game record with 𝟏𝟖 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬‼️

📺B1G+#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/pAdwQnv8dy

— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) April 11, 2026

Jackson and Reddemann ranked at Nos. 28 and 31, respectively, on MLB Pipeline’s draft-prospect list.

ROCKIES’ ARLY PATTERN: COLLEGE EXPERIENCE AND PERFORMANCE EMPHASIZED

All of the Rockies’ first three picks are 21 years of age with

Each also played in the Cape Cod League last season, although Bell’s stint was relatively brief — just five games, as he spent most of the summer on the United States Collegiate National Team.

Jackson worked his way up the summer wood-bat circuit; going from the New York Collegiate League in 2023 to the Traverse City Pit Spitters of the Northwoods League in 2024 and on to the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League late in the ’24 season and throughout 2025. He improved his OPS from .683 in 24 games at Traverse City and .583 in four games and 18 plate appearances with Chatham in 2024 to .818 last summer over 38 games and 161 plate appearances.

Reddemmann notched a 4.03 ERA over eight appearances — including four starts — for the Orleans Firebirds last summer.

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