All Bruins

UCLA Baseball Recruiting Class Spotlight: RHP Luke Jewett

The Bruins’ new arm will have eyes on him this spring after injuries hindered the end of his high school career

Benjamin Royer

(Photo Courtesy of Luke Jewett/Twitter)

UCLA baseball has 14 new players coming to Westwood this fall to replace the 10 who got picked in the 2021 MLB Draft and even more who graduated and went elsewhere. From top recruits to under-the-radar prospects and high-profile transfers, All Bruins is breaking all of them down to see what they could offer UCLA in 2022 and beyond.

Here is the report on incoming freshman right-hander Luke Jewett.

One of the most projectable arms the Bruins have this upcoming season, Luke Jewett, will need to take the mound and take it often, but he may not be able to right off the bat.

Injuries create the roughest roadblocks for pitchers in all ranks of baseball, and Jewett knows all about this early on in his young career. This past season at JSerra Catholic High School (CA), the right-hander only took the mound for three innings. Without context, this looks like a down season, but an elbow injury stunted what could have been for the No. 2 man in the rotation at the San Juan Capistrano-based school. Jewett had to be used as an outfielder for the duration of his senior season, but he still managed to make an impact, contributing to a CIF SoCal Regional Division I Championship victory.

Ranked as the No. 20 pitcher in the state of California by Perfect Game, Jewett was highly-ranked as a pitching prospect before his limitations on the mound hamstrung his chance to rise up the rankings.

Perfect Game describes Jewett’s pitching ability as strong with a fastball in the low-90s and solid arm action on his changeup. 

Entering his college career with that kind of velocity and advanced arm slot makes the rising freshman’s potential hard to ignore. Velocity plays in a college environment, and Jewett has that going for him early on.

Jewett’s repeatable delivery creates a deceptive mix as he attacks hitters throughout a game. He features a fastball, curveball and changeup, none of which he shies away from throwing.

This summer, Jewett played for the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League, pitching in six games.

In those six outings, Jewett did not make many headlines with a 7.29 ERA in 21 innings, but there was one positive statistic that could create a role for him in Westwood. His 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings shows his ability to get swings and misses, which is a strong trait to have especially late into games. His WHIP of 1.81 stands in direct contrast to his ability to strike batters out, however, and it will certainly be a priority for the pitching coaches to work on the righty's command moving forward. 

As Jewett heads to pitch at Jackie Robinson Stadium, he will need to limit the runs given up, but with his strikeout rate, coach John Savage will find a role for him to appear semi-regularly in.

Prediction

Do not be surprised if Jewett is eased into his role this spring. Even though he appeared in the summer, Savage will not rush an arm into high-leverage play, especially after returning from injury. His mature pitching motion out of the stretch and low-90s fastball will push Jewett towards the bullpen to start his collegiate career, considering the lack of innings he’s pitched over the past two years. With the departures of Kyle Mora, Adrian Chaidez and Michael Townsend – in addition to Max Rajcic’s likely move to the starting rotation – there will be plenty of spots to fill in the bullpen. Jewett can take a reliever role head on and maybe even play his way into important games come Pac-12 play.

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Benjamin Royer
BENJAMIN ROYER

Benjamin Royer is a contributing writer at All Bruins, in association with the FanNation and Sports Illustrated networks. Royer is a third-year student at UCLA, where he is a Sports contributor for the school's award-winning student-run newspaper, The Daily Bruin. Royer was previously the Sports Editor at The Valley Star, Los Angeles Valley College's independent newspaper, and he helped develop the Twinger Talk YouTube channel and The Double Play podcast. He is also a professional actor, previously appearing in programs on Showtime, ABC, Disney Channel, FOX and CBS.

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