The 2021 MLB Draft is already paying dividends for the Braves organization. On Tuesday, Minor League Baseball announced its Player and Pitcher of the Month awards for September, naming right-handed pitcher Andrew Hoffmann.
Missed this the other day but congratulations to @Braves draftee Andrew Hoffmann (@hoffdaddy27) for picking up his first professional strikeout on August 7th pic.twitter.com/cikus2Scp3
— Gaurav (@gvedak) August 11, 2021
Coming out of the University of Illinois as a top-five prospect from the Big 10 conference, Hoffman was taken by the Braves in this year’s draft. Prior to his 2021 campaign in Champaign, the southpaw pitched in NCAA’s Horizon League with Oakland University in 2018 as a 19-year-old freshman. Overall, in two collegiate seasons, Hoffmann posted a 4.70 ERA in 118.2 career innings, and in the summer of 2020, he dominated to the tune of a 1.06 ERA and 11.6 strikeouts per nine with Traverse City (in the collegiate Northwoods Summer League).
Hoffmann may have not been one of the top arms in his overall class, but he sure has flourished as a pro. The 21-year-old pitched all of 2021 with Single-A Augusta and simply got better as the season progressed, ending up with an incredible 1.08 ERA in 16.2 September innings, to go with 21 strikeouts and only two walks. For the season, Hoffmann concludes his first year in the Braves organization with a 2.73 ERA in seven starts, spanning 29.2 frames with the GreenJackets.
Given such a strong showing, and the fact he’ll turn 22 in February, it’s very likely Hoffman will be challenged a bit more next season. A High-A Rome assignment to begin the year seems ideal, with perhaps a second-half stint in Double-A Mississippi. For the Braves, it appears they have yet another talented young pitcher on his way up the minor league ladder.
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