On the plus side, it’s holding up well. On the other hand, it can be interpreted as ‘weak explosive power’. This is Doosan’s inability to capitalize on the upswing.
38% of the way through the season, Doosan has two more wins than a 5% chance of winning. There are ups and downs, but they are stuck around the 5% win rate. They swept a three-game series against Hanwha in Jamsil on the 6th, but only got one win against KIA on the weekend. With momentum, they could have been in contention for the top three. However, the starting lineup collapsed early and lost momentum.
If you want to play a long season, you have to play when you have to play. Narrowing it down to one game, if you don’t score runs when you need to, you’re going to lose the game. The defense still has some veteran strength, but given that the batting cycle hasn’t exactly been on an upward curve, the team will have to rely more on its pitching this year than on its bats.
Doosan’s team ERA of 4.11 is seventh in the league. Neither Kiwoom (3.55) nor KIA (3.69) have a team ERA in the sub-3 range. Turning to the starters, the numbers aren’t as bad. Their 3.73 ERA ranks fourth overall, but their 284.2 innings pitched ranks eighth.
Raul Alcantara is the only pitcher who hasn’t missed a rotation, and he’s the only one to break 70 innings. Since the team has played 55 games, a starter would have to make at least 10 starts, and even if he only lasted five innings per start, that’s 50 innings. Aside from Alcantara, no other pitcher in the Doosan lineup has thrown more than 50 innings.
A starting pitcher’s win percentage below 5% is a sign of weakness. Even before the opening day, Dylan Pyle was shut down after taking a hit to the head, and the trusted Young Gun Kwak-Bin was in and out of the lineup with back pain. Won-Jun Choi also struggled with poor run support and poor wickets, while Seung-Yong Choi and Dong-Joo Kim showed their inexperience. It’s safe to say that Alcantara is the only reliable starter.
Brandon Waddell, who was signed as a replacement foreign pitcher after Dillon was released, is scheduled to arrive on the 16th. He’s scrambling to get a flight, but if he’s healthy, he could be ready to go on the 20th. Waddell pitched well last year, going 5-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 11 starts, and he’s been in the rotation full-time in Taiwan this year, so that’s something to look forward to. If he can stay healthy and pitch 5-6 innings a game, it will make the bullpen easier to manage.
With Lee Young-ha and Chung Chul-won in the bullpen, Park Chi-guk, Kim Myung-shin, and Park Shin-ji can be utilized as stoppers or long relievers. This means that the bullpen will be able to support younger starters who may have struggled in the summer league 메이저놀이터.
When the mound is counted, the beasts are focused. Doosan, in particular, is a team that is led by players with a lot of championship experience, which means they have a foundation that won’t be easily shaken. The impact of a “healthy replacement foreign pitcher” on a team is much bigger than you might think. Doosan is looking forward to this.