Jeff Hoffman is a unique pitcher than the one who was drafted ninth total by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014. The 32-year-old right-hander has modified organizations a number of instances, most not too long ago transferring from the Phillies again to his unique crew on a three-year, $33 million contract he signed in January. He earned that deal following back-to-back years wherein he got here into his personal on the mound. Since being signed off the scrap heap by Philadelphia previous to the 2023 season, Hoffman has made 122 aid appearances and logged a 2.28 ERA, a 2.58 FIP, and a 33.4% strikeout fee over 118 2/3 innings. Earlier than his breakthrough, he’d appeared in 134 video games with a 5.68 ERA and a 5.34 FIP over 348 1/3 innings from 2016-2022.
Expectations had been excessive when he entered professional ball. A possible first total choose earlier than injuring his elbow throughout his draft season at East Carolina College, Hoffman ranked second on our 2015 Blue Jays High Prospects checklist regardless of having undergone Tommy John surgical procedure the earlier summer season.
What did his FanGraphs scouting report seem like at the moment? Furthermore, what does he consider all of it these years later? Curious to seek out out, I shared a few of what our then-lead prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel wrote again in 2015 and requested Hoffman to answer it.
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“He broke out in the summertime earlier than the draft on the Cape, flashing an 80 fastball and 65 or 70 curveball from an athletic supply, projectable body and shockingly good really feel to pitch given the facility stuff.
“The arsenal has modified a little bit bit since then.” Hoffman mentioned of McDaniel’s description. “Nevertheless it’s humorous how sure pitches play at sure ranges. My curveball was a pitch I used to be identified for, however then I received to professional ball and, year-by-year, it grew to become extra obvious that it wasn’t a pitch that was serving to my trigger. Particularly in Colorado. It was an enormous breaking ball, and it’s clearly arduous to throw these there.
“I nonetheless have a reasonably good fastball and attempt to be as athletic as potential. The texture half… I’ve a unique mentality now. I care much less about with the ability to transfer the ball to very small areas on the plate. I focus extra on being by the center of the plate, letting the motion of the pitches do their job.”
“He didn’t look the identical within the spring, and simply as he was making changes to his supply to regain prior kind, his elbow popped and he received Tommy John surgical procedure.”
“I truly had a good 12 months up till then,” Hoffman recalled. “There have been some overuse points, possibly. You know the way it’s in school; your finest guys are going so long as potential since you’re solely on the market one time per week. It was unlucky timing. However in the long term it gave me good perspective. I used to be additionally capable of concentrate on my physique for a full 12 months earlier than actually beginning my professional profession. I really feel like that was large from a bodily standpoint.
“The changes I used to be making had been to my curveball. If I bear in mind appropriately, the outing earlier than my elbow popped, I had in all probability the worst offspeed of my school profession. I couldn’t land something. So, midweek that week, we threw plenty of breaking balls. We threw extra quantity than regular, after which that subsequent begin it simply went.”
“The Jays thought he wouldn’t get out of the highest 5, in order that they had been happy to land him with the ninth total choose.”
“The harm occurred round a month earlier than the draft, so we had a while to relay the knowledge to golf equipment,” Hoffman defined. “If I bear in mind appropriately, the Blue Jays had been the primary crew with two picks within the first spherical — I feel a pair groups had two picks — and I undoubtedly didn’t need to fall out of the highest 10. With all of the work I’d put in, it will have stunk to fall a good distance down the board.
“Had I relayed that I might have signed for beneath slot, I’m certain that another groups would have been on me. Possibly I might have gotten picked sooner. However my messaging was clear: I needed my full slot worth for the choose I used to be taken at.”
“Hoffman drew comparisons to Adam Wainwright and Justin Verlander when he was at his finest on the Cape.”
“That’s an incredible praise,” Hoffman mentioned. “Being in comparison with these guys… I imply, after I hear stuff like that it’s gasoline. I knew that I wasn’t these guys, nevertheless it gave me one thing to work in the direction of. Verlander was on the prime of his sport at the moment. Wainwright was, too. Being checked out in that sense means quite a bit.”
“It’s unattainable to know what model of Hoffman will emerge when rehab is over… [and] what kind of pitcher he’ll be going ahead.”
“It could actually go any which approach,” Hoffman mentioned. “You’ve seen my journey. It’s been a rocky one. The bumps and bruises are form of why you’ve received the model of me that you’ve got proper now.
“Once I got here again from my surgical procedure, I nonetheless had my entire growth in entrance of me. I missed that first 12 months, so I didn’t actually begin my professional profession till 2015. Then I used to be within the large leagues in 2016. I nonetheless had plenty of room to develop. There was an extended technique to go from surgical procedure to being a serviceable main league pitcher.
“My arsenal… I imply, I attempted to throw the curveball in Colorado. Their analytics division isn’t essentially on top of things with the remainder of the league, and it was simply, ‘Hey, throw fastballs and curveballs.’ That’s what the scouting report mentioned my arsenal was, and there was by no means actually any dialog about altering it. I added the slider with the assistance of the fellows in Cincinnati, and in Minnesota the one month I spent in camp with them [in 2023]. The splitter I added alone. So, my entire arsenal is totally different. I used to be fastball/curveball/changeup, and now I’m fastball/cut up/slider. I’m very totally different from that [2015] scouting report.”