Jeff Hoffman Scheduled Debut: Thoughts from Walt Weiss

By Kevin Henry | Aug 19, 2016

Jul 21, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss (22) looks on from the dugout in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Fans of the Colorado Rockies were sent sky high on Friday afternoon when news broke that Jeff Hoffman would make his Major League debut on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

Hoffman, one of the key pieces of the trade that sent Troy Tulowitzki to the Toronto Blue Jays last year, struck out nine in five innings in his last outing for Triple-A Albuquerque.

Colorado’s top pitching prospect, Hoffman will make his debut against the team with the best record in Major League Baseball.

“Right into the fire, but I feel like Jeff can handle it,” Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. “He’s got plenty of stuff. It’s plus-stuff, even at the Major League level. He can navigate lineups with his stuff alone. You have to be able to command the 2 (curve ball). We feel like he’s ready for this. You have to start your career at some point and his is going to be tomorrow.”

More from Colorado Rockies News

According to Weiss, Hoffman will not be limited on innings or pitches.

“There’s not a hard number on innings like we had last year with Jonny Gray,” Weiss said. “It’s not the same scenario. We backed off on him recently so, if he did come up here, he could go deeper into games. We lightened the load to try to get out in front of it instead of dealing with it up here.

“With young pitchers, I’m going to err on the side of caution, always. When you get to that point in the game where you could send him out or you could go to the bullpen, I tend to err on the side of caution with a young pitcher. We’ll use common sense more than anything else.”

Also on Friday, Weiss penciled Gerardo Parra into the lineup at first base for the first time this season. The move solves some of the problem created by Colorado’s crowded and talented outfield.

“Looking for ways to keep Parra involved and this is one way to do it,” Weiss said. “He’s been working out at first and doing a lot of pregame stuff at first base. He’s an athletic guy. With our outfield situation, we’re just trying to be creative in ways to keep everyone involved. That was the thought.”

It marks the first time that Parra will play first base in his 1,062-game MLB career. The two-time Gold Glove winner has always played outfield in his career that began in 2009.

Parra has hit just .231 over his last 30 games but Weiss still likes what he sees from the 29-year-old at the plate.

Next: The Top 5 Third Basemen in Colorado History

“He’s been taking some good swings, even in the days when he didn’t get a hit or many hits. He’s made some hard outs on good swings,” Weiss said.

Home/Colorado Rockies News