5 way-too-early Phillies All-Star predictions

Jeff Hoffman

Jeff Hoffman has been a revelation since joining the Phillies early in the 2023 season. Continuously getting batters out and earning the trust of Rob Thomson (subscription required), the 31-year-old entered the 2024 season with high expectations of being one of the Phillies' go-to players at the back end of the bullpen.

Well, he has definitely delivered. Maybe Thomson’s most trusted reliever, Hoffman has a 1.13 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 16 innings of work. He is the arm out of the bullpen that is called upon to put out the fires, match up against the opposing teams' best hitters, and clamp the game down.

Hoffman has accumulated 0.9 fWAR so far in 2024. That's the best mark among qualified NL relievers and is tied for second in all of baseball. As relievers go, there hasn’t been anyone more important to a winning team than the right-hander for the Phillies.

Every year, a handful of All-Star spots are reserved for relief pitchers, and there’s no reason why Hoffman shouldn’t be one of them. The problem he might run into is that the Phillies haven't named him the closer. With only two saves to his credit, Hoffman hasn't earned as many saves as the best closers in the league. He doesn't even have as many as teammate José Alvarado, who has seven.

But with the sixth-best strikeout rate (39.3 percent) and K-BB% (31.1 percent) among qualified relievers in the NL, plus the third-lowest FIP at 1.10, the underlying numbers show he should get serious consideration for a spot in Arlington.