Dan Haren: Former Ace, Current Spot Starter
Jul 18, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Dan Haren (14) throws to a St. Louis Cardinals batter during the first inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Dodgers 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
One of the last articles I wrote was about Homer Bailey, who is a pitcher I have always really liked, but I am writing this article about one of my all-time favorite fantasy players, Dan Haren.
Besides impeccable control, Dan Haren had the incredible ability to always stay healthy. In an age of pitchers living on the DL, Haren stayed healthy from 2003 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011, Haren averaged just over 225 innings in that seven year span.
Prime Haren averaged a pretty solid 3.49 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP to go along with a 7.79 K/9 and an elite 1.81 BB/9. Unfortunately, Dan Haren is no longer the same pitcher at nearly 34 years of age.
2014 Dan Haren of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches on arguably the best rotation in baseball in a pitcher friendly park. With that in mind, Haren could possibly offer some good (or bad) splits.
From a fantasy perspective, home and away splits could be very helpful for spot starts as well as monthly splits to see what way Haren is trending.
As expected, Dan Haren pitches much better at home where he sports a 3.40 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP at Dodger Stadium. On the road, Haren’s 5.40 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP are pretty rough.
As far as monthly splits go, Dan Haren started out strong, but has trended in the wrong direction. This year started off brilliantly with a combined March/April ERA of 2.03. However, Haren’s season has not been too impressive since then with ERA’s of 4.30, 4.15, and 9.47 in May, June, and July, respectively.
As much as I wanted Dan Haren’s magical start to continue, it was not in the cards because his skill set, health, and velocity are no longer what they were from 2005 to 2011.
Even though prime Dan Haren is a few years gone, I still think he could offer value when he is pitching at Dodger Stadium because a 3.40 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP should help most staffs. With that being said, deploy Dan Haren at your own risk, but I would still start him at home.