This weekend I was able to finally head down to Salisbury and catch the Delmarva Shorebirds in action. LHP Josh Hader was on the mound against the Greensboro Grasshoppers (MIA). The local product was accompanied by well over 30 family and friends, whom made sure to display how proud they were.
Hader stands tall on the mound, with a wiry frame that still holds room for plenty of growth. He is what some would call “projectable”. Apparently he has already put on roughly 15 lbs since last season, proving that conditioning has been a big aspect of his training regime.
On the mound, Hader has a unique pitching slot. He almost resembles Chris Sale in terms of arm slot and overall frame. He hides the ball behind his body until the last second, making it hard to pick up out of his hand.
On Saturday, Hader had an up-and-down day. He started off the game with command issues, unable to locate his fastball at times. The stuff was there though. Hitters were unable to pick up on his fastball out of his hand, often slapping it opposite field. There was a very righty-heavy lineup against him.
Hader was 95% fastball against RHH, pounding them inside. Against LHH, he was able to mix it up more and use his change and slider more effectively. He pitches mostly outside against LHH, and it is extremely hard to pick up the ball from his angle. It almost looks as if the ball is going to hit a LHH, yet it ends up on the outside corner. His breaking ball is a curve grip that is essentially a slider. So for the purpose of charting him, I am calling it a slider. He will throw two different variants of it, but from his arm slot they are basically the same effect to the batter.
In the 4th and 5th innings, Hader seemed to run out of stamina. His fastball velocity dropped, and his command wavered once again. Remember that this is a 19 year old kid in his first full season of professional ball. It will take time to build up stamina, durability and command. The important thing to consider is that he displays excellent poise on the mound, shows great deception on his pitches and they all have life and movement. Hader has definitely proven that he is a legitimate prospect.
It still remains to be seen whether he can truly continue to start at the higher levels, but even then he will still be a solid bullpen arm. I would not look much into the final line from Saturday. It really tells you nothing besides that he might not have displayed great command. Defense at the Low-A level is also not exactly the greatest in the world. Overall, Hader is worth the long trip down to Salisbury at some point this season. At the very least, you have to be excited for this hidden gem found in the 19th round.
FB: 89-92 mph and touched 93 on occasion. Hides it well, ball is lively out of his arm slot. Dropped to 87-90 in last inning.
CH: 79-83 mph with decent depth, although could be refined more. Has plenty of room for growth down the line.
SL: 73-77 mph with sweeping action. Throws two variants, one more like a power curve. Good bite against LHH. Sometimes it comes off too flat. He only spun off the power curve pitch once.
1st Inning: 16 pitches ( 13 FB, 1 CH, 2 SL)
2nd Inning: 22 pitches ( 20 FB, 2 CH, 0 SL)
3rd Inning: 16 pitches (12 FB, 2 CH, 2 SL)
4th Inning: 16 pitches ( 7 FB, 5 CH, 4 SL)
5th Inning: 19 pitches ( 17 FB, 2 CH, 0 SL)
Total: 89 pitches (69 FB, 12 CH, 8 SL)
Key Stats: 2 HBP
Final Line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Tucker Blair was born and raised in the Baltimore area and currently lives in Elkridge, Maryland. He graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a B.S in Entrepreneurial Studies and is currently a Project Analyst for a Management Consulting Firm in Federal Hill, Baltimore. Tucker was previously the Managing Editor at Orioles Nation, where he worked on prospect lists, reports, and analysis on the Orioles minor league system. He also previously wrote his personal blog, The EntreprenOriole.