MLB: Which young pitchers could be the next Andrew Miller?

Josh Hader, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers

The long legs, long arms, and long flowing hair would lead one to think Hader’s actually taller than he is, but he still stands in at 6’3″. The 23 year-old opened the season with the Brewers’ AAA club in Colorado Springs, where he had a rough 5.37 ERA, after finishing with a similar 5.22 ERA at the level in half a season there last year.

On his third organization after originally being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 19th round of the 2012 draft, Hader got to Milwaukee as part of the deal that sent Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers to Houston. He absolutely dominated AA in the first half of 2016, but he ran into a buzzsaw at AAA. Many thought he would bounce back as Colorado Springs is a difficult pitching environment, but instead, he slipped further, seemingly forcing the Brewers’ hand on whether he would remain a starter or transition to he bullpen.

Hader has a similar arsenal to Miller, with a fastball that can run up to the upper 90s and sits in the 92-95 area most of the time. From the bullpen that moves up even further on the velocity scale, as he can bump up against triple digits on the top end. He also uses a nasty slider that is difficult for hitters to pick up from his low 3/4 arm slot, often compared in his arm slot and angle to fellow left Chris Sale.

While Hader would have the upside of a front line type of starter in the rotation, moving him to the bullpen was looked at as a short-term move, but he’s taken so well to the role that he may be there for the long haul. Hader has posted a 1.85 ERA over 30 appearances and 39 innings, with a 1.03 WHIP and a 21/55 BB/K ratio. There is still some wildness, but he is so difficult to square up in short bursts that Hader could have incredible value out of the bullpen for his career.