Doosan’s fall to 9th place last season started with the collapse of the foreign pitching staff.
Ariel Miranda, who shone as the MVP of the 2021 regular season, suffered from shoulder pain and only pitched 7.2 innings. Robert Stark consistently filled the rotation, but fell short of expectations. Brandon Waddell, who joined as a substitute for Miranda, was no different. The total of the three last season’s WAR (contribution to victory against substitutes, statistic standard) was 1.86, which was the lowest in the league, and was less than one foreign pitcher.
Raul Alcantara (31), who returned after three years, and Dylan Pyle (27, Doosan), a new face, have a lot to do. If they cannot properly throw foreign one-two punches, it is difficult to expect Doosan’s performance this season as well.
Alcantara and Pyle, who joined the field training in Sydney, Australia, made their debut on the 4th with pitching in the bullpen. Alcantara and Dylan threw 25 each at 50-60% of their total pitches that day. Catcher Yang Eui-ji received the ball from Alcantara and Jang Seung-hyun received the ball from Dylan.
It’s just starting to start the season, but the evaluation is positive. Both have been in great shape during the offseason.
Alcantara spent two years in Japan until last year. Compared to winning 20 wins in the KBO League in 2020, it was not a satisfactory result. He had a 3.96 ERA in 63 games out of the bullpen. He wasn’t without success. Alcantara is showing confidence in the KBO stage after 3 years, saying that he sharpened his splitter, one of his main weapons, in Japan for 2 years.
The splitter is one of the driving forces that made Alcantara a 20-win pitcher. In the 2019 season, Alcantara only recorded 11 wins and 11 losses with an average ERA of 4.01 at KT. He also failed to renew his contract. However, after transferring to Doosan 메이저사이트, he upgraded to a higher level by installing a new splitter and became a top-notch pitcher. He lowered his ERA to 2.54, and his strikeout rate nearly doubled from 100 to 184. I upgraded the splitter and returned to Doosan.
Dylan is off to a good start too. It is evaluated that his pitching is as good as expected and his pitching is more than expected. A Doosan official said, “The positive part is that he has a good sense of fingertips and can face hitters with different angles depending on the situation.”
For a very long time, Doosan was a team that did not worry about foreign pitchers. The best pitchers, including Dustin Nippert, Josh Lindblom, Alcantara and Miranda, led the Doosan mound as if running in succession. So, the sluggish performance of foreign pitchers last year was very embarrassing.
Whether Doosan One-Two Punch, refurbished with Alcantara and Dylan, can regain its former glory is the first step toward restoring the pride of the fallen dynasty.