June 11, 2020
The Pirates have selected Hofmann with the 138th overall pick in the 2020 first-year player draft.
ANALYSISIt would have been difficult to pitch any better than Hofmann did in his four 2020 starts with Northwestern State, as he did not allow an earned run over 28 innings and posted a 38:5 K:BB and 0.68 WHIP. He'll clearly face tougher competition at the professional level, but the Pirates are banking that his low-90s fastball and above-average curveball -- the two pitches listed on his
Baseball America profile -- will be enough to get by.