The Milwaukee Brewers went from a cinderella story team to a team ready to rule the NL Central in a span of a year and a half. Milwaukee has high hopes of creating a more sound team for the 2018 season by adding all-star caliber outfielders: Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich; maintaining the majority of their roster from last year and having a filthy bullpen with pitchers Corey Knebel and Josh Hader finishing the game. Both Knebel and Hader were nice surprises last year for the Brewers and ready to lock down the innings seven through nine with Knebel as their power throwing closer and Hader being the hard throwing lefty set-up man. Josh Hader was never a headline prospect in the Top 100 MLB list but was touted highly in the Brewers organization that he will be an asset to the team. In the minors, he was a starting pitcher that could top out at 95 mph but struggled going through lineups a second and third time around. This gave manager, Craig Counsil, the idea to put him in the bullpen instead. The bullpen is definitely a better fit for Hader as he flourished in his role last year by pitching in 35 games and going 47.2 innings pitched, posting a 2.08 era with 68 strikeouts and holding batters to a 196 average. Hader is a tall, lengthy southpawer that has good velocity and control of both his fastball and slider. After committing to the bullpen, he can now sling the ball in 95 mph effortlessly and can max out close to 100 mph with a deceptive and explosive delivery. He also contains a wipe-out slider in his sequence that makes lefties chase in the dirt and gets righties scared to stay in the box. Since Hader was a starting pitcher in the minors, he can go an extra inning or two in high leverage or bullpen saving games which builds his stock value even higher than before. He could be the next Sparky Lyle, but that's a stretch for how relievers are used now compared to an actual fireman -- but the passion is there between the two. Hader will be entering 2018 at the age of 24 as the set-up man for the Brewers with high expectations for excelling in his new role as the eighth inning set-up man and sometimes going an extra inning. Hader's only struggles next year could be if he loses some velocity on his fastball from fatigue, pitching in more high leverage innings and keeping his fastball elevated in the strike zone too many times. It's hard to make a solid judgement on relievers now because one year they could be dominant like Kevin Siegrist and Jake Diekman and the next year be a complete bust struggling to keep their job like the two left handed relievers I listed above. For Hader's case, however, there's no need to worry. With a full season coming Hader's way, we can project him to pitch in at least 60 games throwing 65-80 innings with 80-100 strike outs, a 2.95-2.5 e.r.a. and holding batters to a 220-180 average. There's a lot to be excited about if you're a Brewers fan and Josh Hader is a part of this hype. So, get ready for pure dominance with this hurler waiting at the end the game and batters hoping to make a comeback before the fat lady sings.
|
|