Live Looks Report: University of California - Los Angeles vs. University of California - San Diego

There is nothing quite like being back at the ballpark: the ping of the bat, the smell of hot dogs on the grill, and hearing really bad heckles from fans. Oh, how I missed this. Oh, and evaluating players and conversing with scouts—that part is pretty important. It was the opening weekend for the D1 season, and I went down to Los Angeles to go see the number one ranked University of California - Los Angeles Bruins go against a scrappy University of California - San Diego Tritons.

The headliner of the trip was the presumptive number one overall selection in the 2026 Draft, Roch Cholowsky, but his squad is loaded with interesting guys you will want to keep an eye on for your open-world leagues, as well as for next year’s FYPDs.

Live Looks Recap: UCLA vs. UCSD

Roch Cholowsky, SS, Chicago White So…UCLA, 20

Roch Cholowsky, the man, the myth, the legend. The presumptive number one overall selection in the 2026 MLB draft had himself a solid weekend. He hit his first homer of the season.

There is not a lot of wasted movement in Cholowsky’s swing; he has a wide stance with a slight stride toward the mound. His hands are held high, and his plus bat speed allows him to get to the right spot. He shows ample barrel malleability and can attack pitches all over the zone.

There is easy plus power here; last season, he posted a 90th percentile EV of 106. His homer was him taking the ball to right-center, and he hit the ball 104 off the bat.

There is just an ease at which Roch Cholowsky plays the game. He is a plus defender at shortstop, showcasing some web gems like when he backtracked into right-center and snagged a batted ball for an out. He has a plus arm. An interesting part of his game is he likes to play deep in the hole, which gives him plenty of time to make the requisite plays.

He could stand to steal a few bases, but it’s not going to happen at UCLA. They have no interest in being disruptive on the basepaths, but Cholowsky has the sort of speed to steal 20 bags if given the greenlight.

Cholowsky is a top 5 prospect the moment he signs a pro contract with the White Sox... Oh, who am I kidding? I think the White Sox would be silly not to take Roch. It’s him and the rest of a draft class that is rather strong. The dream here is a 30-homer shortstop who could steal 15-20 bags a season.

Anthony Potestio, SS, University of California - San Diego, 21

Potestio might be one of the best pure hitters in this upcoming year’s draft class. It's an interesting look; he wears one batting glove and keeps his top hand gloveless, which is an interesting look. He is by no means physically imposing, and if you just look at the stat line you would think that in a three-game series against some of the better pitching he will see all year, he was overmatched, but this wasn't the case.

The star man for UCSD over the weekend went 0-for-15 with five walks and two strikeouts. He was working the counts in this one, grinding out at-bats, fouling off pitches, and generally being a pesky, old-school lead-off type hitter. He is neither the most athletic player on the field nor does he present crazy power, but he has a foundation of being able to hit, and he pairs that with a good approach. He will more than likely move off shortstop, not because he is bad there by any means, but professional organizations will have a better athlete they want to try out there.

This is the sort of player that you are happy to have in your deepest of deep leagues because he has a plus hit tool and can chip in with some power. In the pros, I would not be surprised if he hit more homers as he tweaks his attack angle and looks to take a few more balls to the pull side. There is just a solid foundation of skills here that a team will take in the middle rounds, and he has a high probability of being a big leaguer. He doesn’t have the highest ceiling in a fantasy sense.

Mulivai Levu, 1B, University of California - Los Angeles, 21

Levu plays first base for UCLA, but I don’t think he ends up at first in the pros; I think he moves off the position rather quickly. One scout I talked to brought up the idea of rolling out at second base, and I love that idea, but where he plays might not matter because the bat is so good, and in the early goings of the year, there seem to be some strides made in his approach.

He has tremendous raw power; he hit a pretty sizable homer when I went over to try and get prepared to watch Roch Cholowsky open-side. Levu is a polished hitter, showing good barrel malleability and a good understanding of the strike zone, which has been, at times in his amateur career, a bit of a bugaboo. He has never posted a walk rate above 9% during his time at UCLA, so maybe this year is when he puts it all together and doesn’t chase pitches and tries to get on base more. If that happened, there is the power here, as you can see from his first homer of the season.

Last season, Levu posted a 105 90th percentile EV, and that is going to be one of the bright spots in his profile when FYPDs come around. Plus, he isn't the worst athlete either, so maybe there is a touch of speed here, like 5-10 stolen bases during his peak years. File him away for your FYPDs.

Dean West, LF, University of California - Los Angeles, 21

Dean West is short but not small; he is built like a running back, and a lot of his game is based upon his athleticism. He will steal more bases in the pros because UCLA wants to try and get runners on base for when Roch is up at the plate. That isn't so important right now, but it is important to keep an eye on it when all is said and done, especially when you are able to post between a 4.15 and 4.18 home-to-first time from the left-handed batter's box.

West has a good approach; he sees a ton of pitches, and he gets on base to be hit in by Roch. That's his role as the table-setter for this offense. He didn't really live up to that role in this three-game set, but he did show off his speed. He could be running wild, especially in the Big 10 if he were on any other team.

He also could play center field for most other teams in the country but is limited to left field because of just how good this team is. He could be a top-five-round selection and be a really nice sleeper in your FYPDs a year from now. He could easily hit 10–15 homers, while also stealing 20 bags when all is said and done, and be an asset in OBP leagues because he sees a ton of pitches and doesn't strike out all that much. If he can tweak the loft in his swing, he could be a fun fantasy prospect.

Will Gasparino, CF, University of California - Los Angeles, 21

Will Gasparino stands above his peers as he is listed at 6’6”. A lot of the appeal here with him is his blend of power and speed, and if he can just make enough contact the University of Texas transfer has a chance to be a really good regular.

Gasparino has long levers and it takes him a bit to get everything synced up and going, and unfortunately there is going to be a lot of whiffs in his game, and that in itself is a bit alarming. Especially with breaking stuff that is located down in the zone, he has shown an inability to get to. But when a pitch is left in the middle of the plate, we can see what happens when that happens. Last season Gasparino posted a 107 90th percentile EV and he smashed the homer I saw 417 feet to right-center and it was 106 off the bat.

There is some speed here, and like a lot of UCLA hitters we won’t see him run as much on the bases however he could steal upwards of twenty bags a year in the pros. There is a lot of developmental runway here, especially physically, but it won’t mean much if he can’t get his strikeout issues under control. He could be a trendy “sleeper” in FYPDs if he ends up in a good organization following the draft as someone can dream on a future 20/20 type bat.

Roman Martin, 3B, University of California - Los Angeles, 21

Martin is another interesting piece to this UCLA lineup. He was relatively quiet this series compared to some of his peers, but he was able to make a few impressive defensive plays this series at the hot corner, where he will probably play at the pro level.

He has a simple swing, there is a high leg kick, and there is some noticeable loft in his swing. He has ample bat speed and shows a good ability to attack fastballs all over the zone.

There is above-average power in the tank here; however, he has yet to fully translate that to game power during his time at UCLA. He does have a slight tendency to go the other way, but he did hit the ball hard on two occasions. Martin can be a pain in the you-know-what for opposing pitchers because he sees quite a few pitches.

If the power takes the step forward some think it will, he has a chance to be your classic third-base profile. With power, good defense, and a good approach, there is a chance we see Martin shoot up draft boards and in turn shoot up FYPD boards like the one we plan to build here.

Logan Reddemann, RHP, University of California - Los Angeles, 20

Logan Reddemann was the Friday starter for the UCLA Bruins, and he was quite good on Friday night after transferring up the coast from the University of San Diego, and he looked good. He pitched 5 innings, allowed 5 hits and 3 runs, while striking out 6 batters and walking two.

Reddemann is a good athlete on the mound, and he has a high leg kick in his pre-pitch motion. He swings his hands over his head, drives towards the mound, and releases the ball from a three-quarter arm slot. He has a five-pitch mix, headlined by a fastball that touched 97 in this outing.

The 97 drew some "oohs" from the scouts' section, and he showed solid command of the offering. He had a slider and a cutter that he would mix in; the slider is more of the swing-and-miss offering, and the cutter was used to get a horizontal look. The changeup would flash well.

There is a frame here that could stand to add a bit more muscle, and if that happens, you can project on a touch more stuff. The former two-way player is a good athlete who repeats his delivery well. There is a chance he could pitch his way into the back end of the first round in most "normal" drafts.

There isn't a front-line starter here as currently constructed, but there is a chance for a good number three or four if it all works out. There will need to be some tightening up of the slider if he is going to reach that ceiling because at its best it would flash a 55.

Cashel Duggar, C, University of California - Los Angeles, 20

Cashel Duggar is not going to be the most fantasy-relevant prospect mentioned here, but he can really catch. He is a good mover behind the dish, a good blocker of pitches in the dirt, and a good receiver, and he has a plus arm behind the dish.

There is some offensive upside here. Duggar has some pop, hitting his homer off the scoreboard, and then later hitting a double deep to the opposite field. If this power sticks and the approach stays, Duggar might be able to carve out a backup catcher role with a major league team because of his solid glove and arm.