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In some sort of business challenge, the Rockies and Reds agreed to trade a pair of former top prospects. The two clubs agreed to an exchange on Wednesday by sending a right-hander Jeff Hoffman and minor league law Case Williams from Colorado to Cincinnati in exchange for a right-hander Robert stephenson and minor league outfielder Jameson hannah. The Reds have officially announced the trade.
Hoffman, 28 in January, was the Blue Jays’ ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft and traveled to the Rockies as the centerpiece of the successful time-out trade that was dispatched. Troy tulowitzki in Toronto. The hope at the time of the deal was that the former University of East Carolina ace could become a key part of the rotation forward at the always tough Coors Field, but that didn’t all. simply not successful.
Hoffman has recorded Major League innings in each of the past five seasons, but has never lived up to those high expectations. Out of a total of 230 2/3 frames at the MLB level, he compiled a 6.40 ERA and a disheartening 5.58 FIP in the same way. Along the way, Hoffman averaged 7.7 K / 9, 4.2 BB / 9, and 1.79 HR / 9 to go with a 40.7% ground bullet rate.
As unappealing as these base numbers are, however, there is also reason to believe that Hoffman may have yet other gear he can tap into. As reported here at the MLBTR in May, Hoffman boasts top-of-the-line speed and spin speed on his four seams and above-average spin on a curved ball that has generally confused hitters in 2019. The Reds and their affinity for high-spinning pitchers may have a different idea of how Hoffman can maximize what at least seems like a viable two-pitch mix – whether that’s focusing his four seams more at the top of the box, changing his exit point or other possible adjustment.
Hoffman has no more options in the minor leagues, so he will have to open the 2021 season on the Reds roster. If they are able to successfully exploit his still dormant potential, he would be controllable for another four seasons.
Stephenson’s story in Cincinnati is quite similar. He’s a 27-year-old who isn’t in the minor league options and at various points is ranked among the game’s elite pitcher prospects but has yet to become a consistent producer.
Stephenson has had recent success, however, giving the Reds 64 2/3 frames of 3.76 ERA and 3.63 FIP ball with 11.3 K / 9 vs. 3.3 BB / 9 as recently as 2019. Unfortunately for the Reds and Stephenson, he followed that. with an appalling 2020 effort in which he served 11 points in just 10 innings – thanks in large part to the amazing eight homers allowed.
It’s worth noting that Stephenson, like Hoffman, has excellent speed and spin speed on his fastball, which has seen him register an 18.7% swing rate over the past two seasons. Stephenson’s odor rate, in fact, ranked among the 99th percentile of all Big League relievers in 2019, so there’s plenty of reason to believe that he could also emerge (or re-emerge) as a piece of viable configuration for the Rockies. He’s controlled for three more seasons – a year less than they controlled Hoffman.
Hannah, 23, was a second-round pick by the A’s in 2018, but was traded for the Reds in the 2019 trade that brought the right-hander Tanner Roark in Oakland. He has only one full professional season under his belt following the cancellation of this year’s minor league campaign, having reduced from .274 / .339 / .369 to Class A Advanced in ’19. Hannah currently ranks 15th among Cincinnati farm workers on MLB.com and 23rd on FanGraphs, praising a combination of more speed, above-average fielding and an average punching tool. or better. Hannah lacks power and recognition reports also give her an below average arm.
Williams was the Rockies’ fourth-round pick last summer. He has yet to start a professional game due to the cancellation of the 2020 minor league system and was at least a surprise pick as he failed to make a top 200 prospect in the draft on MLB.com or in the top 500 in Baseball. America.
However, as general manager Jeff Bridich explained to Thomas Harding of MLB.com at the time, Williams was a local product the club had widely spotted. It’s possible that with a full season in high school, of course, Williams would have been hoisted on those pre-draft standings. And it’s clear the Rox aren’t the only club intrigued by Williams and his 96 mph heat, as evidenced by the very fact that the Reds included him in today’s trade. Indeed, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that Cincinnati general manager Nick Krall now says his team planned to draft Williams before the Rockies catch him in the fourth round.
Fansided’s Robert Murray first reported that an exchange was in place and that Hannah was in the agreement. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman and Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal added details on the frame (Twitter connections) before Murray reported all the names involved.
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