Jeff Hoffman Early Struggles Reminiscent of Jon Gray’s Start

Inside the Colorado Rockies locker room, Jeff Hoffman and Jon Gray have their lockers right next to each other. They also share a lot of similarities.

There are some physical likenesses, including a longer frame and longer hair. There are also the lofty expectations that both have had to learn how to handle early in their careers.

When Gray was called up last season, the first #GrayDay was almost a holiday of sorts in Denver. Rockies fans couldn’t wait to see their first-round draft pick take the mound. The same could be said this season for Hoffman, who made his debut on August 20 to much fanfare.

The duo also shares some early struggles in their career. Gray didn’t earn his first Major League win until May 13 of this season. However, once he grabbed that first win, they’ve just kept coming. The 24-year-old right-hander now sits with a 9-7 mark and 4.51 ERA in 25 starts this season.

Gray’s struggles early on reflect what Hoffman is currently facing as well. In his four starts, Hoffman is 0-3 with a 5.60 ERA. That number would be higher, but none of the seven runs he allowed in a 14-1 beatdown by the San Diego Padres on Thursday night were earned.

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After his first start, I documented how the box score looked worse than the end result for Hoffman. The same could be said for Monday night, but he’s now had 20 runs plated against him in 17.2 innings of work. He’s allowed 22 hits and struck out just eight batters. Clearly, there’s lot of room for improvement for the 23-year-old right-hander.

And that’s the thing that Rockies need to remember. Yes, there’s a lot of work still for Hoffman to do, but there’s also plenty of time for that to happen. With a taste of MLB this season, that sets the table for Hoffman’s career. He could also mirror Gray, who wasn’t on the Opening Day roster this season after suffering an abdominal strain. Hoffman may not be on the Opening Day roster in 2017 if there’s still some things to work on. It sounds strange for a player who has such high hopes riding on him, but this is also a problem that may not be able to be solved overnight.

“[Hoffman] just needs to get in better counts,” Colorado manager Walt Weiss said after the San Diego loss. “Errors certainly hurt; they scored I think all seven with two outs after the error, but you’ve got to put the inning down at some point.

“I think it’s just a matter of command, getting in tough counts. And it’s tough to pitch that way up here. He’s got the weapons to be real good, he just [needs to] command it a bit better.”

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Like Gray, Hoffman has the weapons to be a great MLB pitcher. Like Gray, he may also need a little more time to develop them. Like Gray, the Rockies will see good results from their patience with him. That’s something we all need to remember as this season winds down and expectations for 2017 start ramping up.