15 Dan Haren, SP

Nationals starting pitcher Dan Haren dropped his second straight decision Sunday afternoon against the Padres.

Haren (4-5), who made his ninth start of the season, had a hard time keeping the ball in the park as he surrendered three runs in the first and home runs to Will Venable and Kyle Blanks in the fifth. He was charged with seven runs and nine hits over five innings of work. He struck out five and walked two as his ERA rose to 5.54 in a 13-4 defeat.

Haren is scheduled to make his next start Saturday at home against the Phillies. He is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA in four starts at home.

Nationals starting pitcher Dan Haren has turned his season around in recent starts by eschewing strikeouts and ignoring the radar gun. While that has led to three quality starts in his last four, I’m going to go ahead and be that guy who argues with success.

Haren has made a point of publicly noting his lack of concern with his declining fastball velocity, claiming that overthrowing was the cause of his early seasons struggles. And while that may be the case, I also cannot endorse Haren as a reliable Fantasy option if he is just pitching to contact. This is still a guy who struggles to keep the ball in the yard, thanks to a subpar 34.9 groundball percentage.

If Haren isn’t missing bats or keeping the ball on the ground, his pinpoint accuracy will only take him so far. Eventually, all of those balls in the zone are going to turn into hits and home runs, and Haren is going to look a lot less impressive than his 3.00 ERA over the last four starts might indicate.

I can buy Haren as a useful Fantasy option somewhere near the back of your rotation. But I definitely am not on board with his apparent return to relevance as anything resembling a must-start option. 

Nationals pitcher Dan Haren was unable to pick up his fourth consecutive win as he was outdueled by Clayton Kershaw in a loss Tuesday night against the Dodgers.

Haren (4-4) surrendered a two-run single to Andre Ethier in the third for his only damage of the night. The right-hander was charged with two runs and four hits over seven innings. He struck out four and did not issue a walk in a 2-0 defeat.

Haren has been sharp of late, allowing just three runs and striking out eight over his last 15 innings. He is scheduled to make his next start Sunday at San Diego. He struck out five and allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings of work in his previous meeting with the Padres last season as a member of the Angels.