Hader adds 'consistent' changeup to arsenal

PHOENIX -- It’s a Spring Training tradition. Josh Hader is talking about making his changeup a more prominent part of his arsenal.

This time, it sounds like he means it.

“This [spring], I was able to use it in games and see how it plays out with lefty and righty hitters,” Hader said before pitching for the second straight day on Tuesday, which is a good sign that Opening Day is right around the corner. “I’m excited about it. Hitters can’t just sit on one pitch now. That adds a little bit [of an] extra play for that fastball. It makes it tough for the hitters.”

Hader has been making it tough for the hitters since he arrived in the Major Leagues midway through the 2017 season, but he’s evolved in the process. From 2017-19, Hader dominated hitters while pitching almost exclusively with the fastball, throwing it about 80 percent of the time and up to 82.9 percent in 2019. In 2018, he struck out 46.7 percent of the hitters he faced, the highest mark in the Major Leagues for a pitcher who logged at least 40 innings. In 2019, he upped that rate to 47.8 percent.

Both years, Hader won the NL Reliever of the Year Award. But in 2019, when he shifted from a multi-inning role in the middle of games to more of a closer role, Hader also yielded more home runs. Of the first 30 hits he allowed, 13 left the ballpark.

So, he began to adjust.

Hader more than doubled his slider usage from 15.5 percent in 2019 to 32.3 percent during the shortened 2020 season. He produced another good year, ranking ninth among Major League relievers with a 39.7 percent strikeout rate while happily passing the NL Reliever of the Year Award to teammate (and NL Rookie of the Year Award winner) Devin Williams.

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“This is a real credit to Josh, just his kind of seeing the big picture,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “And understanding himself very well, and understanding the matchups in the game, and giving himself options. That’s what he’s trying to do.”

Which brings us to another new option -- maybe.

The changeup.

It’s a pitch Hader has discussed for years. In 2017, when he was still starting in the Minors, he described it as “a messed-up circle change” and showed MLB.com the grip. In 2020, Hader said he had been honing his changeup in the Brewers’ new high-tech pitching lab, and he shared a slow-motion Edgertronic video of his release.

But then, the regular season came and Hader’s changeup was mostly shelved in favor of the fastball and the slider. Now, it’s another spring of changeups.

“That’s a pitch I always had, but it’s never been consistent,” Hader said. “Same with the slider. The slider was more of a priority once I made it to the big leagues, to get that tuned up and consistent, and I feel like I was in a good spot last year with that slider, so I was able to put more focus on that changeup.”

Dodgers star Corey Seager is one of the hitters who has been introduced to Hader’s changeup this spring.

Hader didn’t throw changeups on Monday against the Indians, but threw a heavy dose at the Dodgers on Tuesday during a planned, two-batter stint in a 9-6 Brewers win. With one out, Wisconsin native Gavin Lux, the Dodgers’ left-handed-hitting second baseman, saw the nastiest sequence from Hader. He fell behind 1-0 and then got a called strike on an 83 mph slider, a swinging strike on an 87 mph changeup and a swinging strike three on a 95 mph fastball.

After that, Hader came out of the game as planned. To fulfill the three-batter rule, the Brewers had to intentionally walk Austin Barnes -- a rarity for a Spring Training contest.

“It’s just constantly throwing it,” Hader said of the changeup. “Last year I started working on it with Edgertronic and seeing how the spin works out of my hand and how consistent I could get that release point. Once you start doing it more, you get that confidence in your mind. I threw a few in the game last year. Maybe a handful. But at that time, when it was do-or-die time, you really had to bring your best stuff. I felt like last year, that wasn’t the best option that I had. Going into the offseason I had way more time to really work on it, just throw it more, and get that consistent spin.”

What are Hader’s mental cues for throwing a good changeup?

“I honestly think it’s not doing too much,” he said. “When a changeup is in mind you want to try and manipulate your arm angle and your hand to make it move. That was one of the things for me: Throw it like a fastball and let the grip do the work. It took a while to get that where I wanted it to be.”

Counsell said the Brewers plan to use Hader at the end of games again in 2021; in other words, as more of a traditional closer rather than picking a big spot in the middle of games. That was good news to Hader, who said he enjoys the closer’s role.

Williams is ramping up for the regular season following a slow start with a right shoulder injury, and he figures to be Hader’s primary set-up man. The Brewers have a mix of other arms at their disposal, from fast-working left-hander Brent Suter to side-arm righty Eric Yardley, and power right-handers Drew Rasmussen and Justin Topa.

“This league is going to adjust to you no matter what,” Hader said. “There’s so much data on us and scouting reports that they have everything that you’re thinking. To continue to one-up or just to improve your craft, I think that’s the most important thing.”