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msudogs
Moderator
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 65535
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Probable Pitchers: KT Wiz (Odisraimer Despaigne) vs. SK Wyverns (Jong-hoon Park)
The Wiz and Wyverns have blown a combined five saves over the past two days, with the Wiz taking a pair of ten-inning contests by scores of 6-5 and 6-4, after Wyverns closer, Jae-hoon Ha, blew a couple of one-run, ninth-inning leads.
Ha, a former minor-league outfielder for the Chicago Cubs, was arguably the best relief pitcher in the KBO last season — posting a 1.98 ERA and 2.78 FIP with 36 saves in 37 attempts and a 64:26 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 69 innings pitched. He has already blown five saves in 2020.
FIP or Fielding Independent Pitching measures what a pitcher’s ERA would look like if the pitcher experienced league-average defense and luck.
wRC+ or Weighted Runs Created Plus takes the statistic Runs Created and adjusts that number to account for critical external factors — like ballpark or era. It’s adjusted, so a wRC+ of 100 is league average, and 150 would be 50 percent above league average.
The Wiz, unquestionably, have the worst bullpen in the KBO, with a FIP north of 6.00 on the season for their relief staff; but this team can slug it out with the best (108 wRC+), and I expect to see more games, like Tuesday’s incredible contest, throughout their 2020 campaign
On Thursday, Odisraimer Despaigne (3.55 FIP) will hope to get back on track for the Wiz after allowing 18 runs over his past three starts, and 18 innings pitched.
His strikeout ability (7.5 K/9) and command (4.25 K/BB) has improved substantially compared to his MLB averages (5.6 K/9, 1.72 K/BB), with three above-average fastballs (four-seamer, cutter, two-seamer) and a pair of breaking balls to mix in against lesser competition:
The Wiz offense features the KBO’s leader in hard-hit rate, Mel Rojas (35.6%), and my personal favorite KBO player, Baek-ho Kang, who launched a pinch-hit, game-tying bomb on Wednesday
Wyverns’ submariner Jong-hoon Park has compiled a 4.05 FIP over seven starts in 2020, with at least six or more strikeouts (9.5 K/9), in five appearances.
The 28-year-old righty is in the midst of a breakout season, after posting a 4.55 FIP in 2019, and a 4.80 FIP in 2018. And with his unique delivery, Park is also one of the most unintentionally entertaining athletes on the planet
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06-17-20 11:34 PM |
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