7km disappeared in 1 year, ERA 9.00 with all 4 losses… KBO Reverse Export Mystery

Right-handed pitcher Drew Luchinski (35, Oakland Athletics), who played an active role as the ace of the NC Dinos in the KBO League, is being beaten every time he comes out of the major leagues. The average speed of a four-seam fastball fell by 7 km in one year.

On the 16th (Korean time),먹튀검증 Luchinski started in a home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and collapsed with 6 hits (2 homers), 5 walks and 5 runs in 3⅔ innings. He didn’t strike out. With Oakland’s 2-5 loss, Luczynski suffered his fourth loss of the season and his ERA soared from 8.16 to 9.00.

He went unearned in the first inning, but allowed a two-run home run to Gerardo Perdomo after being hit by a double by Dominic Fletcher in the second inning. He was hit in the third inning as well, after giving up a walk to Corbin Carroll, followed by a two-run home run to left center by Lou Des Gurriel Jr. Both homers dropped the slider low, but led to long hits.

Luchinski, who gave up an additional run in the 4th inning on a walk, hit and sacrifice fly, gave up the 5th walk of the game and went down the mound without finishing the inning. Out of 89 total pitches, 47 were strikes, a mere 52.8%. It was a game in which command completely collapsed.

He used sliders (29), sinkers (26), four-seam fastballs (20), change-ups, and curves (7 of them). His four-seam fastball velocity was a high of 89.2 miles (143.6 km) and an average of 88 miles (141.6 km), 2 km more than the season average (89.2 miles). The fastball didn’t support him, so he threw a runaway pitch, and his pitch didn’t listen. The changeover did not work at all.

Until this day, Luchinski allowed more than 5 runs in all 4 games of the season and became a losing pitcher. He hit five home runs, including four straight games, and walked 14 over 18 innings, reaching 7 per 9 innings. No matter how high the wall in the major leagues is, I wonder if a foreign pitcher representing the KBO League until a year ago could not work this far.

Drew Luchinski in NC. /OSEN DB

Luchinski recorded 53 wins, 36 losses, an average ERA of 3.06, and 657 strikeouts in 121 games (732⅔ innings) in the KBO League as a member of NC for four years from 2019 to 2022. He threw more than 177 innings for 4 consecutive years and consistently scored innings, demonstrating his power with the most strikeouts in the league during this period. Last year, he played an active part in 31 games (193⅔innings) with 10 wins, 12 losses, an average ERA of 2.97 and 194 strikeouts, and succeeded in making a major league U-turn. Auckland, a small market team, made a huge investment with a guarantee of 3 million dollars for 1 year and up to 8 million dollars for 2 years including a club option next year.

However, during the exhibition game, he was anxious with an average ERA of 6.97 with 1 loss in 3 games, and before the season opened, he injured his left hamstring and was put on the injured list. Expectations turned into disappointment as he came up to the big leagues at the end of April, but collapsed in 4 consecutive games.

Last year, Luchinski’s four-seam fastball average speed in Korea was 148.7 km, but in the game against Arizona on the 16th, it was 141.6 km, a whopping 7 km away. Either there is an injury effect or an aging curve. Over the past four years in Korea, Luchinski has thrown 11,644 pitches in 732⅔ innings, the most in the league. He’s 35 years old, so it’s no wonder he has an aging curve. However, it is a mystery how it can suddenly drop like this in just one year.