The Houston Astros broke the market on Friday.
Just a few days after announcing that reliever Kendall Graveman would be lost for the season with a shoulder injury, the 2017 and 2022 champions signed the top bullpen arm on the market, Josh Hader, to a five-year, $95 million contract.
It was a necessary move and a statement: with it, the Astros are saying to the American League that they won’t go down easily in 2024.
Hader has been one of the most dominant relievers in recent history.
His excellent, deceptive fastball gives him a true strikeout pitch, and he complements it with a filthy slider.
Add them up and you have a pitcher who can not only rack up swings and misses like no other in the league, but is also elite at limiting hard contact.
This last asset is evidenced by a historically low batting average against.
“Lowest batting average allowed by any pitcher in history facing at least 1,500 batters during his MLB career: Josh Hader, .156, Aroldis Chapman, .165, Craig Kimbrel, .166, Dellin Betances, .173, Kenley Jansen, .183, Billy Wagner, .187,” Codify Baseball tweeted.
Lowest batting average allowed by any pitcher in history facing at least 1,500 batters during his MLB career:
Josh Hader, .156
Aroldis Chapman, .165
Craig Kimbrel, .166
Dellin Betances, .173
Kenley Jansen, .183
Billy Wagner, .187pic.twitter.com/lBGHo9t0hI— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) January 19, 2024
For hitters, anything over .300 is good, .260-.270 is closer to average, and lower than .220 or .230 is bad when it comes to batting average.
Anything below .200 and you will see your roster spot in danger.
You have to understand, then, how crazy it is to limit the opposition to a .156 batting average.
Basically, Hader is making everyone look like minor leaguers.
When the Astros reach the seventh inning with a lead, it will be virtually impossible to come back.
Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, and Hader might just be too much.
NEXT: Insider Explains How Josh Hader Made MLB Contract History