Jhoulys Chacin has only known Darwinzon Hernandez for a few days. But as soon as he saw the rookie lefty pitch, an image came to mind.
Josh Hader.
"He’s good, man," said Chacin, the former Brewer who turned in two perfect innings Friday night against the Brewers. "He reminds me of Hader. He throws that raised fastballs that some guys just can’t catch up to. I’ve talked to him a lot since I’ve been here. I want him to stay healthy and keep doing what he’s doing."
Chacin sat back and watched Hernandez do his thing in a one-inning stint against New York, throwing a total of 15 pitches, all but one being fastballs. It was that heater -- which topped out at 98.2 mph this time around -- that has led this year's Opening Day starter for Milwaukee to offer up the Hader comparison.
It's not a leap of faith to match up the pair. Both are lefties who lean heavily on high-90's fastballs. Hader throws his 81.9 percent of the time, while the Sox hurler offers his four-seamer at a 72.5 percent clip.