Andrew Hoffman Drafted by Braves

Andrew Hoffman Drafted by Braves

Jordan Boitnott

On Day 3 of the MLB Amateur Draft the Mahoning Valley Scrappers started the day by having their second player drafted of the event. Pitcher Andrew Hoffman was drafted in round 12 pick 367 to the Atlanta Braves.

During his time in the MLB Draft League Hoffman boasted a 2.35 ERA and 0.9 WHIP over 7.2 innings of work. Opponents only batted .185 against him while he also racked up 13 strikeouts. During his time with the Scrappers he was used as a back end reliever making all of his appearances out of the bullpen.

Hoffman features a four pitch mix. He throws a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. His fastball sits in the 92-93 area and can hit 94 on occasion (Prep Baseball Report). Hoffman’s fastball also features a very high spin rate at 2332 RPM. His other three pitches all sit in the 81-83 MPH range. The slider is his most unhittable pitch sitting at a 58.3 Whiff% while in the MLB Draft League.

Hoffman attended Plainsfield East High School in Illinois. He originally committed to Oakland University his freshman year, then transferred to John Logan Community College for his sophomore season which was cut short due to COVID-19. Finally, he ended up where he would pitch this season and that would be Illinois University.

His college tenure has been just as impressive as his Scrappers stint. Keeping his eligibility as a sophomore last season at Illinois he started 11 games and tossed 62.2 innings. He finished the season with a 2.87 ERA, 64 strikeouts and held opponents to a .209 batting average (FightingIllini). His impressive season earned him All-Big Ten Third Team honors. He also hasn’t lost a start since May 2019 as a freshman with Oakland, 34 straight games.

Since he is only a junior Hoffman will now have the decision of signing with the Braves or returning to Illinois for another season.