Tredwell, the right-handed pitcher from UCLA taken in the second round of last month's MLB Draft by the Astros, is spending the summer working out at the team's Spring Training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. Tredwell said he won't be sent out to a Minor League affiliate this year and is in Florida soaking up as much information as he can.
"I always knew [the Astros] were a team that was interested in me," Tredwell said. "Obviously, the development side and the analytic side, they're very good at developing their players and I think they kind of saw me and probably thought they could turn me into a pretty successful big leaguer. Obviously, I'm stoked that they gave me the opportunity to develop with them and start my road to The Show."
Tredwell, who grew up in Massachusetts before moving to Orange County when he was 8 years old, was a closer in his freshman year at UCLA in 2022. This year, he moved into the Bruins' weekend rotation. In his two-year career at UCLA, he went 8-3 with a 2.83 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 92 1/3 innings.
"It was a very smooth transition for me because I've always been a starting pitcher," Tredwell said. "So, for me, the main emphasis on that was getting my seven-day routine back and getting into that starting routine, being able to lay out when my workouts are, when my throwing program is."
Tredwell has a four-seam fastball, a spike curveball, a slider and a changeup and is a strike-thrower. He's going to dig into the information provided by the Astros to see how he can get better, examining his pitch shapes and arm angles. He wants as much information as possible.
"I want to be able to break down every pitch and see where I'm at in the near future and see how I could develop my arsenal and pitch shaping to make myself the best pitcher possible," he said. "They're going to break everything down and we're going to analyze what I'm good at, what I'm not and start putting the tools into my repertoire for development."
While in Florida, Tredwell immediately bonded with rehabbing pitcher Forrest Whitley, who is one inch shorter than the 6-foot-7 Tredwell. He clicked with fellow Draft picks Jake Bloss, a third-rounder, and first-rounder Brice Matthews, as well as catchers Garret Guillemette (15th round) and Will Bush (16th round).
More important, Tredwell said his entire family has been transformed into Astros fans in the blink of an eye.
"Everyone is already rocking T-shirts and rocking hats and just supporting me," he said. "Whenever I flick on MLB Network, my main focus is now towards the Astros, trying to learn and trying to see the guys that I will be playing with and competing for a spot with. It's pretty cool. Also, just being around the complex and meeting these guys from all over the place. No longer is everyone from Orange County, Calif. It's people from all over the world, all age groups. I love it. I think it's cool."
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