Even if it’s not the performance of a very top foreign pitcher like Kelly or Buchanan, I hope they do just the basics of a foreign pitcher.”

Hanwha Eagles manager Carlos Subero showed high expectations for the new foreign pitcher, Ricardo Sanchez (26). Hanwha announced on the 19th that it had signed a contract with lefty Sanchez for an annual salary of $400,000. On the 18th, Hanwha announced a waiver for former foreign pitcher Birch Smith (33), who showed no signs of improving from a shoulder injury, and moved quickly to complete the contract with Sanchez in one day.

Born in Venezuela, Sanchez began his career in the minor leagues in the United States in 2014 when he was 17 years old. Prior to the 2015 season, he had a history of being ranked third in the Los Angeles Angels prospect list by Baseball America.

Sanchez started 133 of his 140 minor league career games, going 32-52 with 640⅓ innings pitched, striking out 581 with a 4.61 earned run average. Hanwha expects that Sanchez will lead the innings stably as he uses various pitches such as curves, sliders, and changeups in addition to a two-seam fastball with a speed similar to a fastball in the second half of 140 km per hour (up to 151 km), and is characterized by an aggressive pitching pattern. .

Although short, he also has major league experience. Sanchez made his big league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020, posting a 6.75 ERA in 5⅓ innings over three games. He underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2020 due to elbow pain, which prevented him from continuing his big league career. It can be seen that Hanwha chose an adventure, but if there was no injury history, Sanchez might not have chosen a new challenge in Korea.

Sanchez played for the Triple-A team under the Chicago White Sox this year. He recorded 6⅔ innings in 3 games (1 starting game) with an earned run average of 5.40 and quickly chose to go to Korea. In the United States, he failed to achieve results that matched his potential and took on a new challenge.

Regarding Sanchez before the match against Doosan in Daejeon on the 20th, coach Subero said, “I know he is a Venezuelan citizen, but I haven’t seen him throw. ” he said first.

What Director Subero emphasized was Sanchez’s personality. Personality is also an important factor in quickly adapting to Korean baseball and culture. Coach Subero said positively, “He is a player who knows how to fight without running away (토스카지노on the mound), and he is known as a good player. Looking at the video, the second and third pitches seem to be very good players.”

He emphasized the potential of Sanchez by mentioning Casey Kelly (LG Twins) and David Buchanan (Samsung Lions), who have established themselves as top-notch aces in the KBO League. Coach Subero said he would be satisfied if Sanchez performed just as well as Ryan Carpenter, who played for Hanwha in 2021 and 2022. Carpenter recorded 5 wins, 13 losses, 188 innings, and an average ERA of 3.83 in 35 KBO League games.

Coach Subero said, “Even if it’s not the performance of a very top foreign pitcher like Kelly and Buchanan, it’s okay to give the basics of a foreign pitcher. Carpenter showed that in his first year at Hanwha. I hope he pitches with such a calculation. Sanchez also He has the same temperament that Carpenter showed in his first year.”

Sanchez has had few starts recently due to the aftermath of elbow surgery, but manager Subero was not too concerned. He said, “I have been a lot of relief in the past few years, but I have the temperament of a starting pitcher.