An approach to identifying problematic data storage devices, such as hard disk drives (HDDs), in a data storage system involves retrieving and evaluating a respective recovery log, such as a media error section of a device status log, from each of multiple HDDs. Based on each recovery log, a value for a Full Recoveries Per Hour (FRPH) metric is determined for each read-write head of each respective HDD. Generally, the FRPH metric characterizes the amount of time a head has spent performing recovery operations. In response to a particular head FRPH reaching a pre-determined threshold value, an in-situ repair can be determined for the HDD in which the head operates. Similarly, in the context of solid-state drives (SSDs), a latency metric is determinable based on time spent waiting on resolving input/output (IO) request collisions, on which an in-situ repair can be based.