“I have the ingredients to be successful in Korea.”

Hanwha left-hander Ricardo Sanchez, 26, was once undefeated because he had a certain appeal. The left-hander has a fastball that touches 150 mph, an aggressive delivery, a changeup, a slider and a curveball. He was winning until the end of the first half.

But the tide has subtly turned since July. In the final game of the first half against SSG and the first game of the second half against NC, he pitched a combined 8 innings, 20 hits and 12 earned runs. Choi Won-ho even admitted that the SSG and NC batters were so-called “supportive”.

In fact, SBS Sports commentator Lee Soon-cheol, who broadcast the NC game against Daejeon on July 21, expressed the view that his pitching habits were exposed. Coach Choi Won-ho agreed. The subtle differences between his fastball and changeup were noticed.

He proved that he had fixed it on July 27 against Gochuk Kiwoom (7 innings, 2 hits, 7 strikeouts, 4 walks, 2 runs, 1 earned run) and on July 2 against Doosan in Daejeon (6 innings, 4 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 earned run). However, on July 8 against KT in Suwon, he collapsed again, allowing 7 runs (6 earned runs) on 14 hits in 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. In 14 games this season, he is 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA, including five quality starts.

Once again, Sanchez was up to 149 mph on his fastball. Since KT is a right-handed batting lineup, he used his changeup more than his slider. He also fought for timing with his curveball. However, there were a lot of pitches that were driven to the center field, and the KT hitters seemed to know what they were doing.

Choi said this before the Gwangju KIA game on May 5. “He’s still young, so he doesn’t have a lot of experience, and he doesn’t have good game management skills. His changeup isn’t something to write home about. Anyway, he has an average speed in the low 140s, so he has enough elements to be successful in Korea.”

Basically, he doesn’t have the command to win borderline games. He also doesn’t have a very good changeup. In the end, you have to rely on your fastball to get favorable counts, and there’s always a risk of getting hit by it. KT’s offense has been one of the scariest in the league in the second half.

Still, Choi says, “I listen to the catcher well. He communicates well with the pitchers. He’s still a young pitcher, so he asks (Jung) Woo-ram-i about his pitch mix and listens to him.” If you can’t improve your command in a short period of time, you need to have a good pitch design. Having an open ear is a big plus.메이저사이트

Hanwha has a solid foreign ace in Felix Peña. The homegrown starters are anchored by Moon Dong-ju in the long run. Han Seung-hyuk is there, and rookie Kim Seo-hyun will join him. There’s also the possibility of left-handed specialist Hwang Jun-seo (Jang Chung-go) joining next year. Therefore, the second foreigner is an important weapon to complete the starting lineup. Based on recent developments, Hanwha should be cautious about re-signing Sanchez.