Not much has gone right for the Nationals in 2013. A team picked by many to win the World Series sits at .500 and is well out of playoff contention. Winter free agent acquisition Dan Haren has been one of the main under-performers on a team full of them this season.
The $13 million-man has posted an ERA of 4.66 and spent time on the DL, a disappointing year for a pitcher who was one of the best in the business in the very recent past.
Haren was one of the most bankable pitchers in baseball from 2005-2011. During that stretch, fantasy owners could count on him to submit solid seasons year-in and year-out without ever missing a start. He was the Wes Welker of starting pitchers.
2012 was a down year as the right-hander failed to pitch 200 innings for the first time in his career, but it was reasonable to expect a rebound campaign this year after a season in which he posted a BABIP 12 points higher than his career average.
Rather than bouncing back, however, Haren pitched even worse in the first half of this season than he did last year, disappointing Nats fans and leading many to believe that he’s washed up at the age of 32.
Before he was mercifully placed on the DL on June 25, the California native posted an astronomical 6.15 ERA in 15 starts, the third-worst figure in all of baseball, and nearly two runs above his previous career-high. Forget Wes Welker; he pitched more like Stevie Johnson, and many fantasy players rightfully dropped him from their teams.
Since his return from the DL on July 8, however, Haren has looked like a completely different pitcher, showing flashes of his old self. He posted a 3.13 ERA in July and has a 2.12 mark thus far in August. His overall figure of 2.16 since July 1 is eighth-best in all of baseball.
One of the main cited reasons for Haren’s decline in 2012 and the first part of 2013 was a significant dip in fastball velocity. His average fastball dropped by 1.4 mph between 2011 and 2012 and did not pick back up in 2013.
Since his return from right shoulder inflammation, though, Haren has thrown his fastball barely half as much as he did in the first half and thrown his sinker twice as much. This suggests that he’s learning to pitch around the inevitable drop in velocity that comes with age. It has certainly played a role in the dramatic turnaround he’s enjoyed in the second half.
Haren will not be pitching in October, but he is not looking forward to next season just yet and he certainly isn’t taking his comeback for granted. “To think about next year, I just really haven’t thought about it,” Haren told the Washington Post. “I really want to keep this rolling. I think I have about seven more starts left. I just want to make the most of those.”
Fantasy owners have only just begun returning to thinking of Haren as a quality pitcher, so I recommend picking him up now for the stretch run and hoping he continues his return to form. He could be big for a fantasy team down the stretch.
Dylan Sinn is a freelance contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSinn or subscribe at Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
Photo Credit: Getty
