LG Twins outfielder Ham Deok-ju (28) is in the spotlight after receiving a request for an identity check from Major League Baseball.
The KBO announced on the 30th of last month that it had received a request from the Major League Baseball office for an ID check on LG Twins’ Ham Deok-ju, and informed him that ‘the player is a free agent and can sign a contract with any team, including overseas teams’.” Everyone was surprised by the news, as few thought that a major league team would be interested in him.
Ham is a veteran left-handed reliever entering his 11th professional season. In 397 career games (501⅔ innings), he has a 35-21 record, 49 holds, 59 saves, and a 3.50 ERA. He moved to LG from Doosan in March 2021, but struggled with injuries in his first year with the club, going 1-2 with a 4.29 ERA in 16 games (21 innings).
After being limited to 13 appearances last year due to injury, Ham bounced back this year with a 4-4 record, 16 saves, and a 1.62 ERA in 57 games (55⅔ innings). 먹튀검증 In the Korean Series, he went 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in four games (3⅓ innings) to lead LG to its first championship in 29 years.
After the season, Ham became a Class B free agent.
LG’s stance is that they want to send Stovrig to all of their internal free agents, including Ham Deok-ju, Im Chan-gyu, and Kim Min-sung.
In this situation, there was a change when the MLB requested a background check on Ham Deok-ju. Of course, the MLB’s request for a background check doesn’t necessarily lead to a signing. Major League Baseball teams are scouting a wide variety of players, and it’s possible that one of them has been watching Ham Deok-ju and requested a background check.
However, it is possible that the MLB was not completely indifferent to Ham Deok-ju. Fangraphs, an American baseball statistics site, provides scouting reports on international players from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and other countries who have the potential to make it to the major leagues. One of the players that Fangraphs provides scouting reports on is Ham Deok-ju.
According to Fangraphs,
“Ham Deok-ju is a left-handed version of Cesar Valdez (5-6, 11-2, 6.11 ERA in 69 career major league games). A KBO bullpen pitcher who deceives hitters with his unusual delivery, he throws a dancing changeup. His arm action is more like a cricket bowler than a pitcher. After his hand stops, his wrist bends toward his forearm and his elbow doesn’t connect. After a few moments, the stride begins and his left arm rotates like a big cinnamon roll before he throws the ball,” explains Ham Deuk-ju of his unique pitching form.
“His 70-mile-per-hour changeup from this funky pitching arm curves in all directions,” says Fangraphs, “making his changeup really unpredictable and confusing for hitters. His fastball sits at just 86-89 mph (138-143 km/h), but it feels faster because of his pitching form, and he has plenty to work with. His slower curveball allows him to get ahead in the count battle with hitters and takes some of the pressure off of him to work the count with his fastball,” analyzed Fangraphs.
“He could be a fun major league bullpen arm to watch in non-critical situations,” FanGraphs concluded.
Based on these evaluations, it’s unlikely that a major league team will actually try to sign him. LG CEO Cha Myung-seok said in an interview on March 30, “I was surprised, too. I had no idea. I don’t know what their intentions were in requesting the background check,” he said, 토토사이트 adding, “But it doesn’t change anything. I think we’ll have to negotiate further to see what happens,” and emphasized that the company is committed to re-signing Ham Deok-ju.