Ahn Woo-jin will definitely not be on the Kiwoom mound in 2024. Now, Kiwoom needs to find an ace to fill in for him for a while.
Kiwoom plans to have Ahn undergo Tommy John surgery as soon as possible. The surgery and rehabilitation will take about a year to one year and six months. It’s not a decision that should be rushed, but it could affect not only Ahn’s health but also the direction of the organization. If Ahn has to deal with his military service at the same time, he could be out until the 2025 season.
In any case, Kiwoom is going through a rebuilding or retooling process, whether it’s short or long. Nevertheless, an ace who can hold the center of the mound is absolutely necessary. You need to win the games you need to win so you can gain experience. Kiwoom is a team that understands the value of a quality ace and how important their presence is.
Choi Won-tae (LG) is gone, and Chung Chan-heon is likely to be ready for the start of the 2024 season after back surgery. Jang Jae-young is a slow developer, but it would be unreasonable to give him a role beyond the fourth or fifth starter. Realistically, a strong foreign ace is more important.
In that regard, it’s worth keeping an eye on “Panama Express” Ariel Hurtado (27). Overshadowed by Ahn Woo-jin, he’s had a fairly steady streak this season. In 25 games, he’s 9-8 with a 2.72 ERA, 122 strikeouts and 37 walks in 155.2 innings pitched. A 1.14 WHIP and a .235 batting average with 17 quality starts.
He ranks first in innings pitched, sixth in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and BABIP, and eighth in the league with a 4.65 WAR according to Baseball-Reference. Among pitchers, he ranks fifth behind Woo-jin Ahn (5.10), Raul Alcantara (Doosan, 5.04), and Eric Peddy (NC, 4.69). His 3.27 ERA is sixth in the league and his 2.61 WAR is sixth in the league. His adjusted ERA, which includes park effectors, is 150.8, which is eighth in the league.
Along with Ahn, he is the most calculated pitcher on the team. He has allowed three runs or less in nine consecutive games, six of which have been quality starts. Four of them were extraordinary quality starts of seven innings or more and two earned runs or less. He’s only won four of those starts. While he hasn’t had a bad pace of wins lately, he hasn’t had the same luck as Ahn over the course of the season.
Hurado is the pitcher Kiwoom picked to be their big foreign ace for the upcoming season. His fastball averages 146.2 mph, which isn’t very fast, but it sits in the low 140s and high 150s. He uses his four-seam and two-seam pitches in similar proportions, 카지노사이트 and has a good mix of sliders, curves, and changeups. Overall, his changeup command isn’t bad. He doesn’t have much of a left-right bias (0.246 BABIP against lefties and 0.220 against righties).
This is a pitcher that the organization was confident would be the number one starter in the A’s organization. He hasn’t disappointed. Ian McKinney, a midseason pickup, was a disappointment, so the team will need to add at least one new foreign pitcher next year. And if Furado finishes the season with a solid performance, he will be a natural candidate for re-signing.