The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Hoffman releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 23 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1211 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Hoffman throws the slider 60.9% of the time against right-handers and 29.4% against left-handers.
585 pitches to right-handers, 626 to left-handers.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Hoffman's sinker moves 16.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
45 thrown, averaging 96.1 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .411 expected average against them, against .326 on his offspeed pitches.
175 of his fastballs thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Hoffman's 4-seam fastball averages 96.4 mph, and has touched 99.5.
386 thrown, 31.9% of his pitches.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Hoffman averages 92.5 mph across his arsenal, 86th percentile in the league.
377 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 74th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Hoffman lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.12 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1211 located pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Hoffman's 4-seam fastball carries 15.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
386 thrown, averaging 96.4 mph.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Hoffman works off the plate, with only 39.5% of his pitches in the zone, 18th percentile.
377 pitches in 2026. 18th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 441st in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Hoffman projects a .379 average, 9th percentile.
377 pitches in 2026. 9th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 488th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Hoffman's slider spins at 2,787 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
540 thrown in 2026.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Hoffman puts 42% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 37.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
157 pitches to right-handed hitters, 220 to left-handed hitters.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 31.4% of the contact Hoffman gives up is hit hard, 84th percentile.
377 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 89th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.8% of Hoffman's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
191 of 1211 located pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Hoffman goes to the slider: 48.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 42.9% the rest of the time.
397 two-strike pitches in 2026.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Hoffman's sinker leaves the bat at 90.3 mph, against 86.3 off his splitter.
45 and 240 of them thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Hoffman throws a fastball 41.3% of the time, against 33.1% when he is ahead.
327 pitches behind in the count, 369 ahead.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Hoffman's stuff spins at 2,380 rpm, 73rd percentile in the league.
377 pitches in 2026. 73rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 146th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Hoffman works with 3 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball and Splitter. The slider is 44.6% of everything he throws.
1211 classified pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Hoffman puts 51.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.2% when he is ahead.
327 located pitches behind, 369 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Hoffman throws a strike on the first pitch 58.1% of the time.
291 plate appearances started in 2026.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Hoffman releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
1134 tracked pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.9 mph separates Hoffman's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 96.4 against 86.5.
386 and 540 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Hoffman has thrown 45 sinkers this season, 3.7% of his pitches, at 96.1 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1211 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Hoffman releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 23 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1211 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Hoffman releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
1134 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Hoffman throws the slider 60.9% of the time against right-handers and 29.4% against left-handers.
585 pitches to right-handers, 626 to left-handers.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Hoffman's 4-seam fastball averages 96.4 mph, and has touched 99.5.
386 thrown, 31.9% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Hoffman's slider spins at 2,787 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
540 thrown in 2026.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Hoffman's sinker leaves the bat at 90.3 mph, against 86.3 off his splitter.
45 and 240 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Hoffman works with 3 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball and Splitter. The slider is 44.6% of everything he throws.
1211 classified pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.9 mph separates Hoffman's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 96.4 against 86.5.
386 and 540 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Hoffman has thrown 45 sinkers this season, 3.7% of his pitches, at 96.1 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1211 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Hoffman's sinker moves 16.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
45 thrown, averaging 96.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Hoffman's 4-seam fastball carries 15.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
386 thrown, averaging 96.4 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .411 expected average against them, against .326 on his offspeed pitches.
175 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Hoffman averages 92.5 mph across his arsenal, 86th percentile in the league.
377 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 74th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Hoffman lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.12 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1211 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.8% of Hoffman's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
191 of 1211 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Hoffman works off the plate, with only 39.5% of his pitches in the zone, 18th percentile.
377 pitches in 2026. 18th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 441st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Hoffman projects a .379 average, 9th percentile.
377 pitches in 2026. 9th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 488th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 31.4% of the contact Hoffman gives up is hit hard, 84th percentile.
377 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 89th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Hoffman puts 42% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 37.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
157 pitches to right-handed hitters, 220 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Hoffman goes to the slider: 48.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 42.9% the rest of the time.
397 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Hoffman throws a fastball 41.3% of the time, against 33.1% when he is ahead.
327 pitches behind in the count, 369 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Hoffman puts 51.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.2% when he is ahead.
327 located pitches behind, 369 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Hoffman throws a strike on the first pitch 58.1% of the time.
291 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Hoffman's stuff spins at 2,380 rpm, 73rd percentile in the league.
377 pitches in 2026. 73rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 146th in MLB.
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