HOUSTON -- Josh Hader's first season in Houston was generally a success, though not without some hiccups along the way. Especially the way the season ended. Hader gave up a three-run double to Andy Ibáñez that broke an eighth-inning tie and allowed the Tigers to eliminate the Astros with a 5-2 win in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series. The Astros signed Hader in January with hopes he would record the final out of another World Series title, but Houston fell way short of reaching the ALCS for what would have been the eighth season in a row. Hader appeared in 71 regular-season games and posted a 3.80 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 105 strikeouts in 71 innings. He saved 34 games in 38 opportunities. Hader admits he's hard on himself, and he is looking ahead more than he's looking back. "I wouldn't say it was a great year for me," he said. "There's a lot of great moments, but there's a lot of ones that I learned from. Overall, I think it was a successful season in that I was able to end the season healthy. That's what I think is important. There's definitely a lot of room to be better, which I always think there is." |
With that in mind, Hader, 30, has spent some of the offseason reflecting on where he excelled in 2024, as well as what he could do better next season. He's entering the second year of a five-year, $95 million deal and will be counted upon to perform as an elite closer. "For me, just trying to piece together the bad parts to where I can better myself and also look at the high moments of what I did really well," he said. "It was a good mix this year. Obviously, when we play this game, you want to end it on a World Series win. There's definitely a lot of growth. "For me, it started back up in November, and I really tried to tackle everything, and right now trying to just work on my arsenal a little bit. Trying to be more simple in my delivery and be able to be more consistent. I think that was kind of my takeaway this year. We'll see how it goes, but right now I feel really good. I feel stronger. Obviously, we still have [two] months left before spring, so I think we're in a good spot." When Hader talks about being simpler to the plate, he means trying to limit his movements before his windup. He believes there are times when other teams might have picked up on some subtle things in which he was perhaps tipping his pitches. "Not really with my mechanics, but just the initial coming set," he said. "That's where a lot of things can be picked up by hitters, when you're coming set. You tend to do certain things on certain pitches. Just trying to limit any tell that I could." |
Hader is also working on making his changeup a bigger part of his arsenal. He threw 1,166 pitches last season in the regular season -- 834 sinkers, 320 sliders and 12 changeups, including 11 to right-handed hitters. Oakland's Shea Langeliers hit the pitch for a homer on May 26. The 12 homers Hader allowed were the second-most in his career (15 in 2019). "I've been trying to figure out a changeup for a long time now, and I've had a decent one but haven't thrown it [much]," Hader said. "Being able to get that right to have three pitches instead of just a fastball and slider and be able to have something that goes the other way [away from right-handers]." Hader is determined to come back stronger in his second season with the Astros and have more chances to get big outs in October. "I think it's always on the mind, to be able to just come back better and get a fresh start," he said. "I think this is time now to gather the thoughts, write up the plan and attack it." |
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The Astros' highest-rated prospect entering the new year will be Cam Smith, who is ranked No. 73 overall by MLB Pipeline. Houston acquired Smith -- the first-round pick of the Cubs in 2024 -- as part of the deal that sent All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker to Chicago last week, bumping outfielder Jacob Melton (No. 89 overall) to the No. 2 spot. Smith, who was the No. 14 overall pick out of Florida State in July, raked in his professional debut last summer. He slashed .313/.396/.609 in 32 games combined between Single-A Myrtle Beach, High-A South Bend and Double-A Tennessee, and he will likely begin next season at Double-A Corpus Christi in the Houston system. "Cam Smith is an impact bat with power," Astros general manager Dana Brown said. "I was very fortunate to see him this spring, actually, when I was out on the scouting trail when we were trying to find our first-round pick." |
Smith played third base in the Cubs' system, but the Astros plan to also play him at first base and in right field. MLB Pipeline graded Smith's throwing arm as his best tool, giving it a strong grade of 60 and rating his fielding as a 50. Smith's hit tool received a 55 grade, while his power earned an average mark of 50. Smith's run tool was his only attribute to receive a below-average grade (45) on the 20-80 scale. "Whichever position he's playing the best, we'll probably put him at that position as he moves up," Brown said. "His last position he played some third base at Double-A, so he had a pretty good pro debut as you can see with the stats. ... He was a really good first-round college bat with power and a chance to hit and is pretty athletic, as well. We're really excited about Cam Smith." |
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