Hanwha Eagles “substitute foreign pitcher” Ryan Weiss (27) will make his KBO debut at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Friday.
The opponent is the Doosan Bears.
Hanwha signed the right-handed Weiss to a six-week contract totaling $100,000 ($12,000 signing bonus, $48,000 annual salary, and $40,000 incentive) to fill the void left by left-handed pitcher Ricardo Sanchez, who was sidelined with elbow pain.
After arriving in Korea on March 18 and greeting his new teammates at Cheongju Stadium, Weiss traveled to Japan to get a work visa and then returned to Korea.
After completing the paperwork, Hanwha announced Weiss as the starting pitcher against Doosan on Sept. 25.
The 193-centimeter tall Weiss was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 129th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2018 MLB Draft, but has never taken the mound in Major League Baseball (MLB).
His career minor league record is 17-17 with a 4.88 ERA in 132 games and 313⅓ innings over five seasons. Of those games, 47 were starts.
Weiss, who signed with the Fubang Guardians of the Taiwan Professional Baseball League last August, is 4-1 with a 2.32 ERA in five games.
This year, he pitched in the Atlantic Independent League in the United States, going 3-3 with a 4.34 ERA in nine games.
He hasn’t pitched recently, so he should be fine for the 25th.
“Weiss throws a fastball in the high 90s and a 140 mph sinker, mixing in a curveball, slider, and changeup,” Hanwha said.
Hanwha has a “one-two punch” with new foreign pitcher Jaime Barria, who is 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA in four starts, and “Korea’s best pitcher of the 21st century,” Ryu Hyun-jin, who is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four starts in June.
His 4.85 ERA ranks seventh in starts this season, but his 4.32 ERA in June ranks fourth as of June 24th.
If Weiss is successful in adjusting to the KBO, Hanwha’s starting rotation will be even more solid.
If Weiss, who is on a short-term contract of six weeks, continues to pitch well, he could push Sanchez out of the way and earn a spot on Hanwha’s roster. 온라인카지노