LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop has already said that a new foreign pitcher should be the first starter for next season. He said he wanted to renew his contract with Kelly during the Korean Series, adding, “The second first line is enough.”
The standard for ace is already out. Throwing better than Kelly, you have to be able to throw as many as Kelly. Kelly had 68 wins (1st), 875 ⅔ innings (1st), and a 3.08 ERA (4th place over 600 innings) over the five years from 2019 to this year. It also ranks first in 98 quality start games. This year, he continued to pitch below expectations until the summer, but as the fall approached like a “big game feature,” he was able to find his skills and finish the regular season with a 3-point ERA (3.83). LG re-signed Kelly for the fifth time, making him the longest-serving foreign player in LG’s history.
LG has always been successful in foreign pitcher selection. Tyler Wilson, who first joined LG in 2018 and played for three years, was an ace in both skill and personality.
He pitched 355 regular-season innings over two years in 2018 and 2019. The ERA was ranked second with 3.07 in 2018 and sixth with 2.92 in 2019. It remained at its highest level for two consecutive years. However, in 2020, the third and final season in Korea, he had to leave the team sluggish with a 4.42 ERA of 144 ⅔ in 25 games. After a hiatus due to an elbow injury in early October, he returned to Game 2 of the semi-playoff on Nov. 5, losing the game with four earned runs in three ⅓. This was Wilson’s last appearance. Wilson, who returned to the United States, quit baseball and began another career in the real estate industry.
Andrew Suarez and Plutko, who have joined since then, had no flaw in the ball, but there was a limit to pitching innings. We need a pitcher who can throw about 180 innings in a season in good health.
Suarez showed a great performance in the early part of the season. He appeared in 23 games with 10 wins, 2 losses and a 2.18 ERA. In 115 ⅓, he pitched an overwhelming number of strikes and 126 strikeouts. But the time on the mound was not long. Due to frequent injuries, he failed to fill the regular innings and crucially had no presence in the postseason. At that time, LG took issue with Suarez’s stamina and sought to recruit a new foreign pitcher instead of renewing his contract.
That’s how Plutko got to wear the LG uniform. Unlike Suarez, Plutko was at a critical juncture at the beginning of the season. However, he became a completely different pitcher by changing the ball mixing pattern. On June 14 last year, he struck out as many as 14 against Samsung, allowing no runs in eight ⅓ innings. The ERA was 2.39 last year and 2.41 this year. But Plutko also showed weakness in pitching innings. He had a shoulder strain around 160 innings last year. This eventually led to a playoff slugging. This year, he stopped pitching in 123 ⅓ innings, which was less than that. He went back to the U.S. without taking the mound in the Korean Series and was on the operating table, drawing parallel lines with the club over the timing of his return.토토사이트 추천
Kelly was different. Since entering the KBO League, he has never finished the season with less than 165 innings. He pitched 166 ⅓ innings last year when he was out of the opening rotation, and pitched more than 170 innings for the rest of the four years. He also showed strength in the postseason, recording four wins, one loss and a 2.08 ERA in eight games. Only when such a pitcher can be pushed out as a second starter will he become an LG ace.