The Jeff Hoffman experience has been nothing if not a rollercoaster since he joined the Toronto Blue Jays ahead of the 2025 season.

His struggles last season were well-documented. A home run problem plagued him all year long, culminating in a blown save against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series when Miguel Rojas took him deep with two outs to go.

Hoffman picked up right where he left off to start 2026, blowing several save opportunities before ultimately being removed from the closer role in favour of Louis Varland. He now finds himself working predominantly in a set-up role and has had more success as of late after making some meaningful adjustments to his pitch selection.

He’s throwing his slider 43.6% of the time in May compared to 27.9% in April. His fastball usage is up compared to last month, while his splitter usage has dropped by more than 10% since the calendar flipped. The results speak for themselves as nine of Hoffman’s thirteen appearances in May have been scoreless, including his last six outings.

The data behind this decision is where things get even more interesting.

Hoffman’s slider is actually one of his worst pitches by Stuff+ (101)—just barely above average on the 100-grade scale. However, his Location+ (109) on this pitch suggests it’s the weapon in his arsenal that he’s commanding the best this year.

Hitters didn’t square his slider up much in April, but have hit .471 of the pitch with a .529 slugging percentage against it in May. Yet, they’ve also been whiffing on it at an extremely high rate, meaning it’s been working as intended aside from a few mistakes.

The importance of Hoffman’s slider goes beyond the pitch itself; increasing its usage seems to have made his fastball more effective. He has punched out eight batters on the heater in May despite giving up some hard contact. Forcing opposing hitters to slow down and sit slider has made them more vulnerable to higher velocity.

Throwing the splitter less is also wise as far as the data is concerned. It grades as below average by Stuff+ (96) and just above average by Location+ (101). A quality offering, yes, but not good enough to be his primary out pitch when he has better options.

Whether this repertoire shakeup produces long-lasting results is to be determined. He has been no stranger to peaks and valleys since becoming a Blue Jay, and this could just be enough of a calm stretch before a frustrating storm—or it could be a legitimate turnaround.

Hoffman genuinely appears to have unlocked something by this latest tweak. He’s an expected stats darling with a bright red Baseball Savant page. Perhaps throwing his slider more is the key to recapturing the excellent form he showed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

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