Questionable Astros' 2024 investment is paying major dividends this season

Dating back to the 2017 season when Josh Hader first debuted in the big leagues, few relief pitchers have been quite as dominant as he has. In fact, he has the most strikeouts of any relievers since that time and is near the top of the leaderboards in games, saves, and ERA.

Last year, in what was his first with the Houston Astros, Hader didn't look quite like himself. Don't get me wrong, he still punched out over 100 batters—a feat that relievers rarely accomplish—and sported a 105 ERA+ that suggests his full-season numbers were better than average.

Yet, he still looked a little bit too "human" for comfort. Hader's one of the greatest left-handed relievers of all-time, so to get handed eight losses and finish just five percent above league-average is quite the drop-off from where he'd been so many times in years past.

Astros' 2024 investment in Josh Hader is paying major dividends this season

Entering the 2025 campaign, expectations for Hader were high, and rightfully so. He's putting together a Hall of Fame-worthy career, but his case takes a massive hit if he's going to turn into an "average' pitcher from here on out. Fortunately, he's been turning his fortunes around in a big way to start the new year.

Hader's made nine appearances so far this season, spanning a total of 11 innings. The 31-year-old has surrendered just one earned run (0.82 ERA) while striking out 13 and walking only two batters. He's shown glimpses of dominance like this so many times over the course of his career, but it's wild to see he's already topped his bWAR from last year by 0.2 wins.

Hader has so much time (and money) left on his contract, which adds a bit of risk onto the Astros' plate, and a bit of pressure onto the pitcher's own plate. He's under contract through the 2028 season, which basically means that for better or worse, these two are stuck together.

Having the five-time All-Star look like his old self is going to be a massive boost for this Astros team. As a whole they're 11-11 to start the year, which is more than a little bit concerning, but that's absolutely no fault of Hader's. Houston's lineup is underperforming as a whole, but that 'pen anchored by Hader is fourth in baseball in RP ERA (2.87) and third in strikeout rate (10.57) to open the year.

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