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Josh Hader 2022 Player Outlook: Elite Closer Justifies His Lofty ADP
3 years agoJosh Hader currently has an ADP ~36 and is ranked as the second reliever in drafts (behind only Liam Hendricks). Considering the numbers he's put up throughout his career, that's fully justified. Since his 2017 debut, Hader has 282.1 IP, a 2.72 ERA and a 44.4% K%. No pitcher with at least 200 IP has a better K% in that time. After posting a career high 3.79 ERA and 12.8% BB% in 2020 (19.0 IP), some were concerned if we'd seen the best of Hader. But he allayed any concerns in 2021 by putting up a 1.23 ERA while striking out 102 batters in 58.2 IP, en route to picking up 34 saves. His underlying numbers back up his lowly ERA. While his xERA (2.18), xFIP (2.35) and SIERA (2.09) all suggest some regression, you wouldn't expect a sub 1.50 ERA again in 2022 and to give context to how good his xERA was in 2021, it ranked in the 99th percentile of all pitchers. Of all relievers with at least 50.0 IP in 2021, only two had a lower xFIP and SIERA. The Brewers should give Hader the chance to top 30 saves again in 2022 and his elite strikeout numbers provide one of the highest floors of any current closer.
