It was not enough to fill 100% of Will Crow’s presence. His first appearance was not good, but he needs to wait and see.
KIA Tigers left-hander Cam Aldred (28) started the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League away game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Tuesday, and became a losing pitcher by allowing six hits, four strikeouts, three walks and six runs in three innings. He pitched 78.유흥알바
Aldred is a foreign pitcher for Crow. The total amount is 325,000 U.S. dollars, which is much higher than expected. Kia can use the postseason if it gives up Crow within August 15 and makes an official contract announcement. On the other hand, if it judges Aldred’s performance is not good, it can end its contract with Aldred and hire a new foreign pitcher.
His first game as a pitcher was a bit shaky. He was hit to the right by Yang Eui-ji after two outs in the first inning, but pitched a 146 km fastball to the outside edge of the borderline. He pitched efficiently, mixing two-seam, slider and change-up. He only pitched 10 pitches in the second inning. Some balls were far out of the strike zone at times, but few were pushed to the center. He also had good disception and strikeout capability.
However, he was slightly shaken up in the third inning. As the number of balls that flew out of the strike zone increased, he gave a walk to Cho. After starting with 2B to Henry Ramos, he laid low two-seam and slider, but hit a timely RBI single in the right-center field. Ramos did a good job. His low two-seam to Heo also showed good contact, and he hit a double to the left-center field. Still, he thoroughly pitched a breaking ball to Kim Jae-hwan and struck out.
It collapsed in the fourth inning. With one out and no outs, he suddenly hit Kim Ki-yeon and Kim Jae-ho a lot. In the end, he threw a slider to Lee Yoo-chan with no outs and the bases loaded, and got hit in a double play. He put it out of the strike zone, but it became a timely hit. Cho put a fastball high outside the inning, and gave up another RBI double play, and was replaced.
Aldred’s earned run came to six as Lim Ki-young, who was deployed afterwards, received a sacrifice fly and a two-run double. Overall, the pitch was shaken up suddenly, but there were not many mistakes. There were many scenes where Doosan hitters showed outstanding cohesion. As the club explained, he is a left-hander with good decimation, but he is not slow with his ball and has the ability to strike out. Some of the balls marked with sliders drew sweeper trajectories.
Although he allowed a walk, it needs to be watched more closely in that he does not collapse due to his shaky ball control. In fact, he had a longer bullpen session than starting pitcher in the minor league, but he started all nine games for Triple-A Indianapolis Indians under the Pittsburgh Pirates this season. His performance was 1-3, with a 6.88 ERA.
It’s best to be able to feel full in the first drink, but some players take time to adjust. For KIA, it is necessary to fully see and judge Aldred’s skills. Jeong Jae-hoon and Lee Dong-gul, pitching coaches, are expected to help a lot.