Jeff Hoffman DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Toronto Blue Jays right-handed reliever Jeff Hoffman has a 6.04 ERA and three blown saves in his last seven appearances, but manager John Schneider said he's not worried. "Just in talking with him, he's in a good spot," Schneider said. "I think that, you know, the life of a reliever and a high-leverage reliever is bumpy." The 32-year-old veteran is striking out a career-best 13.7 batters per nine innings, but he's allowed five home runs in his first 22 1/3 innings pitched. Hoffman has had a home run rate of 6.8% the last three years, so his current rate of 30% will surely normalize in the coming months. Additionally, his control has been just as good as it was during his All-Star campaign a season ago, so Hoffman's surface stats shouldn't have fantasy manager panicking at this time. He picked up his sixth save of the season in the team's 2-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday.

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman had a rough ninth inning in Anaheim, blowing the save and taking the loss on Wednesday night. Hoffman entered the game with a 4-2 lead but gave up a walk and two singles before getting an out. He struck out Taylor Ward but gave up a three-run double to Jorge Soler that flipped the 4-2 lead into a 5-4 defeat with one swing of the bat. Hoffman was charged with three runs on three hits and took his first blown save and his first loss of the year. The loss drops his record to 3-1 on the year with seven saves in 16 games. Hoffman also gave up three runs on Tuesday night in a non-save situation, and this could be growing into a developing issue for the Blue Jays' bullpen

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman couldn't keep the team's shutout intact against the Braves, but he still managed to lock down the save on Wednesday afternoon. Hoffman entered with a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning but gave up a solo home run to Drake Baldwin. He struck out Eli White to end the game despite the long ball, which wasn't really all that long and would only have been a home run in four MLB stadiums, per Statcast. It was the first home run allowed by Hoffman this season, and he has a 1.74 ERA with 14 strikeouts across 10 1/3 innings. Hoffman has been very effective at the back end of Toronto's bullpen this season, helping his team to an 11-8 start to the season as they host Seattle for a weekend set starting Friday.