May 14, 2015: Aaron Harang
It is always fun to see a player work his way back to the top of his game, and Aaron Harang has definitely done that. After an underappreciated run in the mid 2000s with Cincinnati (From 2005-2007, he was 8th in starts, 3rd in IP, 3rd in K’s, and 23rd in ERA+ in the majors), the wheels fell off the bus for a couple years, going 18-38 with a 4.71 ERA from 2008-2010. He then left the Reds (and Great American Small Park) and bounced around, putting up three solid seasons in the next four while playing for 5 teams. This year, though, on his 7th team in 6 years, he has been better than ever. With 8 shutout innings vs. the Pirates on Thursday, the new Phillie now has a 2.03 ERA through 8 starts, 7 of which have been quality. The Cardinals roughed him up for 5 runs in 6 innings in late April, but in his other 7 starts he has given up just 7 earned runs in 47.1 innings. Much of this is unsustainable (.258 BABIP), but at 37 Harang is still going strong, and it is a treat to see.