Extending Josh Hader should be a top priority for Milwaukee Brewers
By Lucas Valind
If you are a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers, or even baseball in general, you are witnessing greatness from Josh Hader. Not only has Hader been on a tear to start the 2022 season, but he has been historically great in the process.
You just don’t find pitchers that can give you the production that Hader has during his time in Milwaukee, and that is why the team should be making extending him one of their top priorities.
Extending Josh Hader should be a top priority for Milwaukee Brewers
It’s never too early to start thinking extension when it comes to generational talents. Josh Hader definitely fits into that category, given the dominance that he’s put on display throughout his career.
While Hader may be putting up historic numbers this season, him being among the best bullpen arms in the game is not new to anybody. Hader has had an ERA under 3.00 every year of his career, other than the shortened 2020 season. That means that every full season that Hader has pitched since arriving in Milwaukee in 2017, he has had an ERA under 3.00. He also has never had a season where he’s had a WHIP above 0.99.
Somehow, despite his immense talent, Hader comes back every season seemingly better than he was in the previous season. Perhaps the biggest reason why Hader has been able to improve so much is because of his willingness to make adjustments.
In 2019, Hader had a stretch where he had become more predictable. He was using his fastball more than he ever had in his career, with a fastball usage of 84.3 percent on the year. Due to his high fastball usage, hitters began to sit on the pitch, and Hader gave up a career-high 15 home runs that season. It became obvious to spectators and to Hader that he would need to develop an effective second pitch in order to have consistent success.
Since 2019, Hader has cut down on his fastball usage and has added a devastating slider, as well as a minimally used changeup to complement his signature pitch. In doing so, Hader has achieved levels of dominance rarely seen in the game of baseball before.
In the last three years, Hader’s slider usage has been 32.3 percent, 27.8 percent, and 29.8 percent. Becoming more than a one-trick pony has been huge towards Hader’s development into the game’s premier closer.
Hader’s current career numbers match up against some of greatest in the history of baseball. Not to say that Josh Hader is Mariano Rivera, but looking into the two’s career numbers will put into perspective just how elite Hader has been.
Mariano Rivera owns career ERA/WHIP/BAA splits of 2.21/1.00/.211. Hader, in comparison, has career splits of 2.14/0.84/.137 in the same categories. The numbers say it all. If he can sustain the level of success that he’s already had for a number of years, Hader could go down as one of the all-time, if not, the greatest closer that the game has ever seen.
As for the Milwaukee Brewers, the ball is in their hands when it comes to whether or not Hader will be around long-term. Pitchers like Hader are once in a generation, so the team may not have a choice but to do everything in their power to keep him. It should certainly be high on their priorities list as the end of his years of club control nears.