Shaker Grad Hoffman Roughed Up in Debut
Shaker High School product Jeff Hoffman was roughed up in his first Major League start on Saturday afternoon, surrendering six runs in four-plus innings to the Chicago Cubs, including a mammoth home run to Cubs star Kris Bryant.
That said, Hoffman's debut wasn't as bad as the box score would indicate. He threw 61 percent strikes, which is exactly the kind of ration that you would want to see. He also only walked one batter, which again shows a willingess and ability to challenge Major League hitters.
Hoffman has great stuff. He throws between 94 and 98 MPH and can locate with a slider, curveball and changeup. A lot will get made of where Hoffman plays (Coors Field), but he and Jon Grey look to give the Rockies a good top of the rotation for years to come.
Directly from the article above, Hoffman had this to say:
"I feel like the atmosphere was great. Obviously I'd like to see a little more Rockies (fans) show up. But for my first big league game it was exactly what I was expecting. A ton of people. It was loud. It was electric."
Interesting of Hoffman to semi-call out Rockies fans but he has to understand that Cubs fans travel well, so that is not something he'll encounter all the time.