Do we need time to adjust? Foreign pitcher Eric Lauer (29) of the Kia Tigers has failed to display what he expected when he was hired. The point that will decide whether to make a soft landing in the KBO League will be the right-handed hitter.메이저놀이터
As of the 30th, Lauer’s performance was 1-2 with a 6.87 ERA. When he was recruited as an alternative foreign player on the 6th, he drew attention with his brilliant major league performance (36 wins in total, 11 wins in 2022), but he has yet to show his power. QS (Qualification of QS, more than 6 innings and less than 3 earned runs) recorded in the four games he started. Since the number of pitches per inning is not small at 20.4, the precondition for QS is to play 6 innings (maximum 5 innings).
Lauer is a left-handed pitcher who clearly shows strength and weaknesses. He is better at blocking left-handed batters than anyone else. The batting average of left-handed batters is 0.192 (five hits in 26 times at bat), which is comparable to that of left-handed batters. The OPS, which is the combination of the on-base hit rate (0.323) and the on-base hit rate (0.231), is also impeccable with 0.554. He effectively blocks batters with a combination of curveball and cut fastball (cutter), which are his main weapons. The problem is right-handed batters. The biggest reason his personal performance deteriorates is his right-handed batter’s hit rate at 0.380 (19 hits in 50 times at bat). The three homers Kang Min-ho, Park Byung-ho, and Choi Jeong allowed are all right-handed batters. Both the on-base hit rate (0.446) and the on-base hit rate (0.680) are serious.
The team’s poor performance against the Gwangju SSG Landers on Sunday was no different from the previous game. SSG deployed right-handed foreign hitter Guillermo Herredia (three hits, one homer and three RBIs from five times at bat) to advance to leadoff for the first time this season, and deployed right-handed hitters throughout its lineup. The result was a decision-making victory for SSG. Lauer struggled with the batting average of 0.400 (eight hits from 20 times at bat) against the right-handed batter. The team lost the game by allowing eight hits and five runs in five innings.
Lauer’s biggest advantage in the MLB was that there was no “left-right deviation.” The batting average for right-handed batters (0.251) and the batting average for left-handed batters (0.266) were similar. The same applies to the on-base percentage (0.320-0.343), the slugging percentage (0.435-0.416), and the OPS (0.755-0.759). However, he became a 180-degree different pitcher after joining Kia. Some say that one needs to throw more balls to adjust to the automatic ball-strike system, which is currently in use in the KBO League. Under the ABS system, strikes are declared only on balls that pass through virtual zones set on machines, not on the subjective judgment of umpires. Quite a few pitchers find it difficult to make a strike zone as it is slightly different from ordinary strike zones.
However, Lauer is expected to become a “pitcher” at the point of attack on right-handed batters. In the game against SSG, Lauer threw 95 pitches. In addition to his fastballs (45), he threw curves (13), slider (6), fork (2), and cutter (29). He flies like a left-handed pitcher’s cutter fastball, and then faces towards the body of the right-handed batter. He is faster than a slider, but has less bending angle. However, Lauer does not have many pitches to target outside strike zones based on right-handed batters.
This is because he rarely throws a two-seam fastball or change-up that has a different trajectory from the cutter. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said on the 18th, “A left-handed pitcher needs a change-up to succeed in Korean baseball. I think it would be better to increase it little by little through a pitching coach or a power meeting,” adding, “It’s completely different from giving batters the perception that there is a change-up.” This is the advice Lauer should refer to.