This is your second warning. If he doesn’t change, there’s nothing to look forward to.
We’re talking about KT Wiz’s new foreign pitcher, Bo Schuler. KT removed Schuler from the first team roster on the 29th.먹튀검증
Signed after the team released Odrisamer Despaigne, Schuler was expected to form a foreign one-two punch alongside Wes Benjamin with a fastball over 150km/h and a variety of pitches.
However, his early results in the KBO have been abysmal. In nine games, he is 1-7 with a 5.62 ERA. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is a whopping 3.33.
Schuler made his debut on 11 April against the NC Dinos, and although he took the loss, he raised expectations with seven innings of four-hit, one-run ball, and then picked up his first win on 16 April against the Hanwha Eagles with six innings of four-hit ball.
The nightmare began on the 22nd when he took the loss against the Doosan Bears, giving up five runs (four earned) on 11 hits in seven innings. Since then, he hasn’t won a game and has lost six straight. On 28 April against the Samsung Lions, the only game without a win, he was on the verge of losing after giving up three runs in five innings, but a dramatic eight-run eighth inning tied the game at 8-8. That game was also a 9-10 loss for KT, meaning that in the nine games that Schuler has pitched, KT is 1-8.
There are a number of issues, but the first is that Schuler has not yet adapted to the KBO. He tends to stick to his own style. Against the LG Twins on the 17th, Schuler asked the coaching staff if he could pitch with his lead, and manager Lee Kang-cheol agreed. In that game, Schuler pitched a scoreless third inning but gave up five runs on four hits and two walks in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Lee has been working on a solution ever since. On the 21st, Lee noted a change in Schuler’s pitching style while working with him out of the bullpen. Usually, foreign pitchers prefer to pitch with a fastball. If the fastball is so good that the opponent knows it and can’t hit it properly, it doesn’t matter, but otherwise, you have to mix up your pitches to face Korean hitters.
“Korean hitters are good with fastballs,” Lee said, “but you need a mix, you need to be more precise. She definitely has good stuff,” he said. “He doesn’t need more innings. You just need six good innings. You don’t need 100 in three or four overs,” he advised Schoeller, who was trying to throw too much. It was a piece of advice, but it was also his first warning. The fact that the coach himself told him that he had to change is a sign of patience.
Against the Kiwoom Heroes on the 23rd, Schuler was clearly in good form. He gave up two runs on six hits in 6⅓ innings, his first quality start in over a month. The team lost the game 1-3, and Schuler was the losing pitcher, but there is hope.
However, in his very next appearance, hope turned to despair. On the 28th, he gave up six runs on eight hits in 3⅓ innings against Samsung Electronics. KT’s four-game winning streak came to an end after giving up an early run.
Lee issued his second warning. He sent Schuler down to the second team. He told him that he needed to make a change in the second team. If Schuler didn’t change, KT would be forced to look for a new foreign pitcher.
It is not uncommon for a pitcher to insist on pitching his own way in Korea and then get beaten up and leave. Lee also had to deal with William Cuevas and Despaigne before him and their pitching styles.
KT has Jang Sung-woo wearing a mask with a good lead. He has the ability to build on the good pitches of the day. It’s just a matter of adapting to Korean baseball, where the catcher is largely in charge, unlike in the US, where the pitcher takes the lead. Now it’s up to Schuler.