Josh Hader's Strategic Quest: Finding the Perfect Release Point as Houston Astros' Closer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - As he begins his second year with the team, Houston Astros , closer Josh Hader recognized a part of his pitching technique that needed adjustment. His typical release point was becoming slightly higher than before, especially when throwing his signature fastball.

It began to rise in an area where I thought my pitches weren’t tunneling effectively," Hader stated. "For me, the focus was on throwing the fastball from a lower release point, similar to what I had used before.

This transformation took place across multiple seasons. During the brief 2020 campaign, Hader threw his pitches at an average arm angle of 24 degrees, as recorded by Baseball Savant. This increased to 29 degrees in 2021 and further climbed to 32 degrees the subsequent year before inching up one degree annually for the past couple of years.

Hader usually throws his fastball at a higher release point compared to his slider. In 2021, his average release angle for the fastball was 31 degrees, whereas it was 26 degrees for the slider. By 2023, this had changed to a 35-degree angle for his fastball and a 29-degree angle for the slider.

Hader mentioned wanting to attempt catching them and he missed his opportunity to do so last year.

Although Baseball Savant refers to this as "arm angle," Hader stated that the adjustment encompassed more than just his arm position. He mentioned that modifying the tilt of his upper body was crucial, along with delaying the opening of his stance during the pitching motion. This delay helps because “if I open up too soon, my arm tends to elevate automatically.”

In this season, Hader’s average arm angle for all pitches stands at 29 degrees, which is consistent with his position from 2021. Similarly, his fastball is thrown at an angle of 31 degrees, matching what it was back then. Additionally, the discrepancy between this angle and the one used for his slider—averaging around 28 degrees—is minimal.

"Clearly, it significantly reduces velocity, but it provides a different angle of attack for the pitch," Hader stated.

If you observe, my slower pitches came from a lower angle, whereas my fastball was higher. Now that my fastball is coming in lower, it creates more tunneling effect.

Hader began Friday with an impressive performance so far this season. As a left-handed pitcher, he maintained a 0.67 ERA over his first 11 appearances and successfully completed all seven save opportunities. Throughout those 13 innings, Hader gave up only six hits, issued three walks, and recorded 17 strikeouts, showcasing the level of control and prowess the Astros anticipated when they signed him to a five-year, $95 million contract.

Last season, the closer was tops among setup men in both strikeouts and swing-and-miss percentage yet ended up with a 3.80 ERA across 70 outings. Batters had difficulty making contact with his slider, leading to an impressive 60.2% miss rate. However, they performed relatively well against his fastball, as 14 out of 33 hits off it were for extras bases, including eight homers.

As of Friday, batters managed only 3 hits out of their last 22 attempts when facing Hader’s fastball. Although his swing-and-miss percentage dropped slightly to 32.7% compared to his career average of 39.1%, he excelled at inducing weak contact. Only six eligible pitchers allowed for an even lower hard-hit rate than him, and over the course of 28 balls put into play, not one was hit with authority off his pitches.

Hader increased his use of the slider to 39.4% in his initial 11 appearances, which is significantly higher compared to the 27.4% he used last season. The pitch showed some distinct characteristics this time around; it had an average vertical drop that was five inches greater than the previous year’s figure and two additional inches of horizontal movement. However, the velocity dropped by about three miles per hour.

Following his advice, Hader’s average fastball speed has dropped by 1 mph compared to last season. However, the decrease in velocity on his slider has resulted in a larger difference between the speeds of these two pitches, which Hader mentioned could potentially be advantageous.

Not entirely deliberate," Hader stated. "In past seasons, I noticed throwing a slower slider proved effective. However, I believe this year, the trajectory is quite distinct from before. Thus, maintaining a slower speed but with improved form has certainly been beneficial.

The batters managed only 3 hits out of 21 attempts against the slider, recording an average exit speed of 81 mph on 11 balls put into play before Friday. Additionally, Hader has been using his changeup more frequently against right-handed hitters—a strategy he mentioned wanting to implement during spring training—after deploying it just 12 times throughout last season.

Hader mentioned, 'It feels as though I’m pitching more often than simply throwing,' adding that he believes last year he adopted a style focused mainly on hurling fastballs and aggressively facing batters without necessarily having to.'

In order to compete at this level and remain competitive, you must possess multiple pitches. Last year, I ran into difficulties because my primary offering was my fastball, which everyone knew about. When it came down to critical moments, hitters anticipated that single pitch. If I made even a slight miscalculation with its placement, it provided opponents a chance to capitalize on my mistake.

Hader mentioned that incorporating movement into his slider wasn’t “entirely” the focus but rather resulted from “experimenting” with his release point. Using it more frequently recently just demonstrates how effective the pitch was for him last year,” according to Astros’ pitching coach Josh Miller.

We continue to believe that his exceptional fastball performs well when thrown high in the strike zone, and he’s increasingly using his changeup compared to last season, making it a solid third choice that adds variety to his pitching style," explained Miller. "This keeps him versatile with these three effective pitches.

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