The spirit of foreign players in 10 professional baseball teams that makes them ‘laugh and cry’… Due to the similar power, the battle for rankings is fierce due to the performance of mercenaries.
As of May 7, professional baseball has played 25% of the entire schedule (180 out of 720 games). In this year's case, there is no extremely strong team, so competition for rankings is expected until the end of the season. As team competition intensifies, the 10 clubs are also becoming more sensitive to the battle for rankings, so the replacement of foreign players who fall below expectations is expected to accelerate.
SSG Landers was the first team to pull the knife on foreign players this year, with a mercenary expelled just one month after the game opened. SSG expelled Robert Dugger on April 27. Dugger struggled to adapt to the Automatic Ball Assessment System (ABS), which was introduced to the league for the first time this year, and pitched in 6 games, resulting in 3 losses and an average ERA of 12.71 (32 earned runs in 22⅔ innings). His hitting percentage reached a whopping 0.366. In the NC Dinos match on April 6, he tied the record for the most runs allowed in a game in KBO League history by allowing 12 hits and 14 runs (13 earned runs) in 3 innings. SSG signed right-handed pitcher Drew Anderson instead of Dugger. It is at least a consolation to the team that foreign hitter Girermo Heredia is showing bat skills of around .400.
The LG Twins are having trouble with Detrick Ens. It was expected that he would play the role of the team's ace, but his performance is disappointing. As of May 7, he has made eight starts and his average ERA is 5.14 (24 earned runs in 42 innings). The hitting percentage was 0.295. The average number of innings pitched (5⅓ innings) is too low compared to the number of pitches (94.9 per game). The number of stolen bases allowed is 13, which is quite high. In addition to Ens, LG's Casey Kelly also has a poor ERA of 5.09. This is even more perplexing because Kelly is the guardian of the LG mound, where he has been playing for 6 years since 2019. The 'defending champion' is currently in the middle of the rankings as the foreign one-two punch is losing strength. Worries about foreign batters have been alleviated thanks to the performance of Austin Dean (batting average of 0.324, 8 home runs, 25 RBI) for the second year in a row, but the puzzle of foreign pitchers has not yet been solved.
The Lotte Giants, who welcomed new manager Kim Tae-hyung, also do not have foreign pitchers in the early part of the season. Charlie Barnes has an ERA of 4.65 in 7 games (21 earned runs in 40⅔ innings), and Aaron Wilkerson has an ERA of 4.73 in 8 games (24 earned runs in 45⅔ innings). In order for the team's performance, which has fallen to the bottom of the rankings, to rebound, they need the strength to endure on the mound, but they have not yet shown a performance that can overwhelm the opponent's batting lineup. Although Victor Reyes does his part in the attack (batting average of 0.362), it is unfortunate that the slugging ability (5 home runs) that Lotte wants most is lacking.
The Doosan Bears are suffering from injuries to foreign pitchers. First starter Raul Alcantara has not been on the mound since the Kiwoom Heroes game on April 21 due to elbow pain, and Brandon Waddell was excluded from the first team for a while due to a back injury, but recently returned to the team. Alcantara also left the country on May 3 to see his doctor in the United States. In addition to Doosan's foreign pitchers, fielder Henry Ramos is also showing batting that does not meet expectations, which only increases manager Lee Seung-yeop's concerns. As of the 7th, OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) is only 0.679. He also only hit two home runs.
KIA Nail, NC Heart, Samsung MacKinnon, and two standouts
The Samsung Lions, who escaped the swamp of consecutive losses at the beginning of the season and leapt to the top rankings thanks to the strength of their bullpen pitching staff, are somewhat disappointed with the performance of Connor Siebold, who was recruited as the first starter. The average ERA reaches the 5 point range (5.13). The vacancy left by David Buchanan, who served as the team's ace for four years, appears to be large. David MacKinnon, a new foreign batsman, is showing off his performance and team friendliness that will make you forget Jose Pirella. Although she was away from the team for a while due to maternity leave, she boasts a sophisticated batting average of 0.387.
Some teams are smiling thanks to their foreign players. Representative examples include KIA Tigers and NC Dinos. In particular, KIA, which suffered from poor performance by foreign pitchers despite possessing solid power last year, is benefiting from a one-two punch from foreigners for the first time in a while.
James Nail is currently showing an ERA in the 1-point range (1.26, first place in the division). WHIP (on-base percentage allowed per inning) is also low at 1.05 (3rd in the division). He also averages over 6 innings pitched per game (43 innings pitched in 7 games). Although he boasts one of the strongest starting pitchers in the league, there are concerns that he has only played as a bullpen pitcher in American professional baseball for a while. As the season approaches, problems with physical strength may arise. SBS Sports commentator Lee Sun-cheol pointed out, “Neil is throwing a ball that is a bit curved toward the vertical slider, but if the speed drops and the batters can read the trajectory, the game may end up being difficult.” KIA's William Crow is also currently doing his part. However, it is unfortunate that in 8 starts, there was only one game in which he was responsible for more than 6 innings. It is encouraging to see that Socrates Brito, who has been wearing the Tigers uniform for three years, is gradually finding his hitting feel.
NC, which had been concerned about its power weakening due to 2023 regular league MVP Eric Peddy's departure to the United States, is on the rise with Kyle Hart and Daniel Castino showing stable performances on the mound. Hart and Castino combined for nine quality starts (6 or more innings as a starter and 3 or fewer earned runs). The average ERA is also not bad at 3.48 (Hart) and 3.95 (Castino), respectively.
Following last year, the KT Wiz is raising its metallurgy ranking from the bottom again this year and is not envious of foreign players. Wes Benjamin showed the worst pitching in March (2 games, 8 innings, 15 earned runs), but starting in April, he has been responsible for more than 6 innings every time he appears. Looking at the performance from April to May (based on 5 games), the average ERA is only 1.83. William Cuevas is also showing his best, recording six quality starts (tied for first place). The average ERA is 3.28. In addition, Mel Rojas Jr., who returned to the KBO League after four years, is hitting home runs and creating a synergy effect in the batting lineup with the resurgent Kang Baek-ho.
Kiwoom Heroes' early rise was slowed due to a shallow player base, but Ariel Jurado (3 wins, 4 losses, ERA 4.13) and Enmanuel de Heisus (4 wins, 3 losses, ERA 3.60) are doing their part. Due to the weak domestic starting lineup, the opposing team facing Kiwoom is hoping to avoid the two foreign pitchers in the starting rotation. Ronnie Dawson, a growing icon, is also making up for his annual salary ($550,000) with a batting average of 0.328.
Hanwha Eagles' Ricardo Sánchez, Felix Peña, and Jonathan Peraza showed some strength, but the domestic players performed poorly and fell to the bottom of the rankings. Peraza has already surpassed the number of home runs (a total of 9) that Hanwha's foreign hitters (Brian O'Grady, Nick Williams) hit throughout the season last year. If you look at only foreign players, their power has improved compared to last year, but their performance seems to be at the same level. Domestic players desperately need a rebound.