Everybody knows that Aroldis Chapman, when he’s on, is one of MLB’s most dominant relievers: even in the middle of wildness bouts, he keeps missing bats and racking up strikeouts.
However, there is a fellow left-hander on the Milwaukee Brewers who has proven to be just as dominant, if not more, as Chapman: Josh Hader.
The Brewers’ closer is still not scored upon this season in four games, with four saves and six strikeouts.
His 0.75 WHIP shows just how dominant he is: he misses bats and doesn’t allow many baserunners.
In fact, he could very well follow Chapman’s footsteps with his next milestone.
“If Josh Hader gets 12 Ks in his next 6 IP, he will have exactly the same number of innings pitched when he logs his 500th MLB strikeout as Aroldis Chapman had. (asked by @timjordanOS),” Codify Baseball tweeted.
If Josh Hader gets 12 Ks in his next 6 IP, he will have exactly the same number of innings pitched when he logs his 500th MLB strikeout as Aroldis Chapman had.
(asked by @timjordanOS)— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 18, 2022
A Really Cool Milestone If He Can Achieve It
While getting 12 strikeouts in a span of six innings is extremely difficult (it would mean 18 K/9, or strikeouts per nine frames), if someone has a shot, it’s Hader.
The left-hander has struck out 488 batters in just 286.1 innings pitched, an absurd rate that is among the best in recent memory when it comes to MLB.
He is no stranger to milestones: just this weekend, he achieved his 100th career save by retiring the St. Louis Cardinals in order in the ninth.
Hader’s next few outings will be really interesting, to see if he can do what Chapman did.
Of course, it’s more of a symbolic record than anything else, but it would be a really cool achievement for one of the league’s top relievers in the last five years.
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