Dan Haren appears to have found his comfort zone and it certainly is not in Arizona. The former D’Back and current Angel ace has been nothing short of spectacular in this young season; posting the league’s best ERA at 0.73 with 21 strikeouts and 2 walks in 24.2 innings and a 3-0 record in 4 starts. That is impressive.
Sure, you can make the case that one of his wins came in a relief effort against Toronto on April 9th. Yes, he only pitched one inning in that game, but lets put this in perspective. Haren came into this game in the 14th inning, on 3 days rest (having just pitched on the 6th for his first win of the season going 7 and 2/3) to get the game winner. Then 3 days later he is called upon again and not only pitches well – he pitches a complete game, one hit shutout of the Cleveland Indians. Easily the most impressive start thus far in the big leagues.
The Angels, whom looked to be losers in the free-agent market this offseason, have got themselves a beast on the mound right now. When comparing his season statistics against not only the better righties in the league, but lefties as well, Haren is showing a level of dominance and control that nobody else is coming close to right now.
Sure, its early in the season and there is a whole lot of baseball left to be played, but watching Haren pitch this year could very well turn into quite the extravaganza if he keeps this pace up. Time will tell and well, the Angels have plenty of opportunities in front of them to overuse that arm.
No comments:
Post a Comment