“Right-hander Eric Peddy is three years older than Connor Seabold, and after just one year in the KBO League, he signed a two-year, $15 million (W19.5 billion) contract with the Chicago White Sox. This is the most ideal scenario for any player heading to Korea or Japan.”
Korean baseball fans are paying keen attention to Connor Seabold, a 27-year-old foreign pitcher for the Lions. Samsung announced on Tuesday that it signed a contract with Seabold for a total of 1 million dollars including a down payment of 100,000 dollars, an annual salary of 800,000 dollars, and incentives of 100,000 dollars.
The news of Seabold’s recruitment reminded me of Eric Feddy (30). When he signed a million-dollar contract with the NC Dinos last winter, Feddy drew the most attention as he had extensive experience in the Major League. Before coming to Korea, Feddy played in 102 games (88 starts) in six seasons with the Washington Nationals in the Major League, recording 21 wins and 33 losses, 454 ⅓ innings, and an ERA of 5.41. Although he was armed with the ability to rotate the starting pitcher in Washington, his report card was not sufficient to survive in the Major League. Washington released Feddy, who was about to apply for a salary adjustment, and NC, which did not miss this opportunity, quickly led his move to Korea.
Even before coming to Korea, Peddy had a clear goal of “return to the Major League” and set a perfect turning point. He started 30 games this year and recorded 20-6 losses, 180 ⅓ innings, 209 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA. As he ranked first in the multiple wins, strikeouts and ERA, he was the fourth pitcher in KBO history and the first foreign pitcher to win the Triple Crown. He left the best performance in KBO foreign pitcher history, and naturally, the MVP was his job.
Thanks to his stellar performance in the KBO league, he returned to the Major League after just one year. When he signed a two-year, $15 million contract with the White Sox, MLB.com said, “Peddy was a pitcher who relied on sinkers, curves, and changeups when he was playing for Washington D.C. However, when he went to Korea, he added sweeper to his repertoire, and the change was immediately apparent. In the KBO, his strikeout rate of 29.5 percent exceeds his MLB record of 17.5 percent, and his walk rate of 4.9 percent is half of his MLB record of 9.5 percent. And his ground ball induction rate is 70 percent, which is a very outstanding level.”
Seabold’s big league career is not as spectacular as that of Fedy. He made his Major League debut as a member of the Boston Red Sox in 2021, and moved to the Colorado Rockies this year, where he was guaranteed more opportunities. He has 33 games (19 starts), one win and 11 losses, 108 ⅔ innings and an 8.12 ERA in three seasons. Still, his situation is similar to that of Fedy in that he received many opportunities in the big leagues just before he came to the KBO after signing a contract with Samsung. Seabold recorded one win and seven losses, 87 ⅓ innings, a 7.52 ERA and 1.65 WHIP this year.
“Seabold uses powerful fastballs with a speed of around 150 kilometers per hour on average, as well as change-ups and sliders with high completeness,” Samsung said. “We expect that he will play a key role in Samsung’s starting lineup in the 2024 season based on his strong ball power and stable ball control as he has excellent left and right utilization in the strike zone.”
“MLB Traderums” noted Seabold’s young age and unfortunate injury. The media outlet said, “Seabold was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round of the 2017 draft. He was traded to Boston and Colorado twice. Seabold was among the top pitching prospects in both the Philadelphia and Boston Farm systems. However, elbow and forearm injuries forced him to spend the 2021 and 2022 seasons short.” 온라인카지노사이트
One year in Colorado this year was like a nightmare, MLB Traderums said. “Seabold moved to Colorado with solid performances in the minor league, and had nightmare seasons in both Major League and Minor League Triple-A. Seabold played in 13 MLB starts and 14 bullpen games, with an ERA of 7.52. He had a good walk rate of 6.9 percent, but struggled with his strikeout rate of 16.4 percent, which was lower than average. He allowed 1.96 home runs per nine innings, and Coorsfield (Colorado’s home stadium) was not helpful to him at all.” Coors Field is called the “grave of pitchers,” and is especially vulnerable to fly ball type pitchers.
The problem is Seabold’s Triple-A performance this year. MLB Traderums pointed out that Seabold did not show a better performance in Triple-A. He pitched 31 ⅔ with an ERA of 7.47, and added, “Seabold’s Triple-A performance last year was 86 ⅔ with an ERA of 3.32. He even had a strikeout rate of 24.7 percent and an excellent walk rate of 5.3 percent. Samsung would probably like Seabold to be close to what he will look like in 2022.”
Seabold’s success in rebounding from Samsung has ample potential to follow in the footsteps of Peddy. “If Seabold performs as well as Triple-A in 2022, he will be able to sign a contract worth millions of dollars again,” MLB TradeRumors said. Seabold will only be 28 years old next year. He is young enough to return to the Major League.”
There are times when he is required to spend several strong seasons in the KBO or NPB. Although he was three years older than Seabold, right-hander Peddy had an intense season in the KBO. After winning the MVP award and receiving the Choi Dong-won Award (KBO’s Cy Young Award), he successfully signed a two-year, $15 million contract with the White Sox. This is the most ideal scenario for players heading to Japan or Korea. Seabold said positively that if he spends time cleaning himself in Korea (adding new pitches would help him), he would follow a similar path.