Fresh off a second consecutive National League Reliever of the Year Award, Josh Hader’s season began in record-setting fashion. The Brewers closer did not allow a hit over his first 11 2/3 frames. Just as notably, his slider usage had doubled from 15.5% in 2019 to 30.9% to begin the 2020 campaign. His hard hit rate fell below 30% after it ranked among the worst in the league the year prior. It was easy to look at this information and conclude that Hader was evolving into a better, more complete version of himself.
Under the hood, however, were a couple of negative developments.