Jeff Hoffman's demotion is slightly concerning

DENVER – Colorado Rockies right-handed starter Jeff Hoffman was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday. The move to demote Hoffman came in a sequence of four changes to the Rockies 25-man roster. Rookie Ryan McMahon was also optioned to Triple-A while Scott Oberg and Mike Tauchman were recalled from the Isotopes.

Hoffman—the prize piece of the Troy Tulowitzki trade—was having a solid rookie season in the big leagues. Although he has been up and down several times he stuck in May and had been very good before the All-Star Break.

As of late, the 24-year-old’s velocity has dropped and his performance has followed. In his last three starts, the velocity of his average fastball has dipped in each one.

In that same period that his fastball has dipped he’s allowed six of the 14 total homers he’s given up in 2017. Meanwhile, since the All-Star Break, he has a 7.15 ERA and opponents are slashing .315/.390/.615 off of him. His last seven outings are the polar opposite of his first 10 (nine starts) where he had a 4.15 ERA and opponents slashed .223/.291/.381 off of the young righty.

“You look at him before the All-Star Break, from our critical eyes and knowing our players I think it was time for him to take a little bit of a step back and to get someone else in the rotation,” manager Bud Black said.

Those other options could be Tyler Chatwood or Antonio Senzatela, who have each bounced between the rotation and bullpen within the last month. This could be temporary as Tyler Anderson has begun throwing bullpens coming off of his knee injury.

“It works a couple different factors,” he continued. “It’s a good break for him physically and as I told him he can exhale a little bit. We’re going to give him a little bit of a break on the pitching side. He will resume throwing in the Albuquerque rotation in a little bit.”

Black went on to say that Hoffman won’t pitch for ‘at least five or six days’ but that there was a plan in place with their young starter.

Hoffman now joins German Marquez, Jon Gray, Kyle Freeland and Senzatela as young starters that have gotten a break in some form or fashion from the MLB rotation.

“We knew this going in,” Black said. “That we were going to have to give these guys a little bit of break and we’ve done it a couple times and it’s happened on its own a little bit”.

The general vibe isn’t one of too much concern about Hoffman despite his recent performance.

Yet he has thrown 135.2 innings this season—not counting Spring Training—which has already bumped him up near his professional high of 150. He threw that last year between MLB and Triple-A and it may not seem like a lot but he threw just over 100 innings in 2015 and he’s been trying to naturally build back arm strength since undergoing Tommy John Surgery in 2014, his draft year.

“This is part of being a young pitcher,” Black a former 15 year MLB pitcher said. “Everyone has a different path to becoming a major league player.”

As for McMahon he gets dropped from the roster as the club wants to get him more regular at-bats and that can occur in the minors. The Rockies like what Tauchman offers as a pinch-hitter from the left side and they feel as though they more need a fourth outfielder than a third utility infielder.

Oberg has thrown in 49 games for Colorado this year and Black mentioned that the reports state that he was throwing more strikes in the minors over his brief 4.1 innings stint with the Isotopes.