Rockies Hoffman Retires First Eight Of Nine Batters In Debut, Before Cubs Ruin Party

Jeff Hoffman pitching in a game in 2015 for the Rockies then AA affiliate the New Britain Rock Cats. (Photo by Gabe Rodriguez/Legends on Deck)

Update: 11:15 pm

The Colorado Rockies sent their top pitching prospect Jefff Hoffman to the mound on Saturday against the Red-Hot Chicago Cubs and the rookie shut down the Cubbies explosive offense through three innings, retiring the eight of nine batters. But in the fourth, Chicago finally figured out the Rockies right hander and recorded four straight hits en-route to a 2-0 lead. Then after he recorded two quick outs, the Cubs scored two runs, on a two-out single from Miguel Montero to extend the lead to 4-0.

In the fifth, Mike Montgomery reached on an error, then Dexter Fowler walked and Kris Bryant unloaded a three-run bomb for his 31st of the season, which ended Hoffman’s night. A valiant effort by the rookie, against a superior team.

Hoffman’s line: 4 IP, 7 H, 7 R (6 ER), 1 BB, 2 K

Original Post: 7:00 am

There are reports around the media that the Colorado Rockies are expected to call up their #1 pitching prospect (#3 overall) Jeff Hoffman to make his major league debut against the Red-Hot Chicago Cubs on Saturday at Coors Field.

Hoffman, a native of Latham, New York, was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (9th overall) of the 2014 June MLB Amateur draft.

The 6’5″ right hander came over to the Rockies in the trade that sent Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto, on July 28, 2015.

In two minor league seasons, he is 11-14, with a 3.56 ERA, and 199 strikeouts in 222.2 innings spanning 42 starts. This season, Hoffman pitched for the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Rockies and in 22 starts, he was 6-9, with a 4.55 ERA, and 124 strikeouts in 118.2 innings.

Now he will be asked to help halt the NL Central leading Cubs winning ways, who have a record of 77-43, and winners of eight of their last ten games and keep the Rockies slim playoff hopes alive.

The Rockies are 58-63, nine games out in the NL West division, and just seven games out of the Wild Card spot.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.