Before he even entered high school, Dan Haverty was schooling hitters in Golden Stick Yard League. Now – still not even 20 years old – the Woburn, Massachusetts native has the tools and makeup necessary to be one of the game’s premiere pitchers.
In fast pitch competition, Haverty leans on a two-pitch combo of an overhand slider/riser and a sidearm drop. The former gets on hitters in a hurry. Due to its velocity, the pitch doesn’t move a lot but it also doesn’t need to in order to be effective. At the 2017 Fast Plastic Texas Open this past October, the pitch did lose some of its effectiveness as Haverty began to tire in the quarterfinals. The former standout high school wrestler brings that same bulldog wrestler mentality to the pitching rubber. Even as he tired in October, he found a way to gut through it and pitch Remember the Rookies into the semi-finals. His sidearm drop pitch serves as a great complimentary pitch and differs from his other main offering in arm angle, speed, and movement. Haverty has demonstrated a willingness to use both pitches in any count. The only downside to the combination is that the significantly different arm angles makes it easier for a hitter to pick up which pitch is coming. However, between the movement of the sidearm drop and the velocity of the riser/slider, Haverty is hard to hit even when the batter knows what’s coming. He handled the bulk of the pitching duties for the Rookies during round robin at the Texas Open and has the stamina to make it deep into tournaments. Although he has played and pitched for a while, concerns about an arm injury remain relatively low as most of his innings have come in a medium pitch environment and he is well-conditioned.
Haverty is built like a wrestler which has translated into rather prodigious power in GSWL Yard League. His swing was a tad long through the zone at times during the Texas Open but his power should make him a valuable hitter even if his batting average remains middle of the pack. After years of leading his team, the High Rollers, Haverty joined Josh Pagano on the Founders beginning in July of last season and later accepted an invite to play with Pagano and the Rookies in Texas. With GSWL looking like a full-time Yard operation these days, it would be great to see Haverty make a trek to a fast pitch tournament or two this year. He certainly has the tools and experience to succeed in such an environment.