Will Eric Lauer (29), the winning pitcher brought out by the KIA Tigers to win the championship, be able to successfully make a soft landing in the KBO League.
Lauer will make his KBO League debut against the Samsung Lions in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 11th.
Earlier, Lauer signed a total of $350,000 (down payment of $50,000 and annual salary of $300,000) with KIA on the 6th. Prior to announcing Lauer’s recruitment, the KIA team applied for waiver disclosure of Will Crow and Cam Aldred to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on the 5th.
Kia, which is rapidly advancing to the top spot, has made a move to win the title. Aldred, who was a temporary substitute for Crow, had easy performance with three wins, two losses and an ERA of 4.53 in nine games, but clearly showed weakness. He had a strong batting average of 0.150 against left-handed hitters, while he was extremely weak against right-handed hitters (0.284). Another cause of concern was his poor performance against the Doosan Bears (two losses and an ERA of 15.95 in two games) and the Samsung Lions (8.22 in two games), which can be seen in the fall baseball league.
In fact, two pitchers – James Nail (9-5, 2.84 ERA) and Yang Hyeon-jong (8-3, 3.75 ERA) – are leading the starting lineup, and Kia has found an ace pitcher who can play well beyond the regular season to the Korean Series. As a result, it embraces Lauer, who boasts a remarkable career with 36 wins in the Major League.
Lauer, who wore a San Diego Padres uniform as the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 MLB Rookie Draft, blossomed his potential with the Milwaukee Brewers, who moved through a trade after the end of the 2019 season. Lauer, who showed promise in 2021 with 24 games (20 starts), went 11-7 with a 3.19 ERA in all 29 games in 2022 as a starter.
Lauer, who had been on a roll as a starting pitcher for two consecutive seasons in the big league, was hampered by a shoulder injury. Lauer, who suffered from right shoulder impingement syndrome in 2023 and left a disappointing 10 games (nine starts) with four wins, six losses and an ERA of 6.56, became free after the end of the season. He signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in March this year, but was released after two months. He signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros and sought to return to the big leagues, but things didn’t go as he wanted. 메이저놀이터
Lauer pitched in 19 Minor League Triple-A games (starting 16 games) this season and posted an average record of four wins, five losses and an earned run average of 5.26. He was the same as last year (3 wins, four losses and an earned run average of 5.15 in 12 games) when he suffered from shoulder injury.
Lauer’s fastball, which had an average speed of 93.3 miles per hour (about 150.2 kilometers) in 2022, lost much of its power last year, reaching an average speed of 90.8 miles per hour (about 146.1 kilometers). As expected, the average speed of fastballs in Triple-A remained at 91 miles per hour (about 146.5 kilometers) this season. People might wonder if it was the aftermath of the injury.
Last year, Lauer said in an interview, “My focus is on becoming the perfect pitcher. I will become a pitcher who can control my ball control and dominate the strike zone. Regardless of the amount of ball control, that’s my goal,” expressing his pitching philosophy that focuses on game management rather than ball control.
Though his ball speed has not recovered as much as he did during his career high school years, Lauer has shown signs of regaining his pace. Early this season, he struggled with two wins and two losses and an earned run average of 5.52 in eight games in the International League, but he recorded two wins and three losses and an earned run average of 5.09 in 11 games in the Pacific Coast League, where he is relatively strong. If he narrows down the scope to the last five games, his earned run average will drop to 2.86 (seven earned runs in 22 innings).
Lauer has increased the weight of cutters since his fastball speed was lowered. His driving rate increased from 19.8 percent in 2022 to 35.8 percent in 2023, and he threw cutters at a 22.8 percent rate in the minor leagues this year. Overall this season, Lauer’s cutter showed poor results with a hit rate of 0.368. However, while increasing the cutter rate to 24.1 percent in the last five games, the hit rate decreased to 0.222.
“Excellent game management skills are his strength, and he has various pitching styles including curves, sliders, and changeups. Notably, his fastball of up to 151 km/h and a big curveball that is emitted from a height of 190 centimeters are powerful,” the Kia team said when it officially announced the recruitment of Lauer.
Though the ball speed is somewhat slow on the U.S. stage, a left-hander who throws an average of around 140 kilometers per hour in the KBO League is competitive enough. If the cutter and curveball are as powerful as expected, Kia will be able to show off its highly anticipated performance as the “winning pitcher.” Attention is focusing on whether Lauer will be able to throw a pitch worthy of his reputation as an MLB pitcher with 36 wins in his first appearance.