NC’s newest foreign pitcher, Taylor Widener, kept a low profile long enough to make his debut on May 30 against the Changwon Doosan 꽁머니사이트 (6 innings, 2 hits, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks). He injured his back in late March during the exhibition season. He rehabbed longer than expected, but NC waited for him. There was a belief that the alternative foreign market wasn’t as strong, and that Widener would be able to make some impact once he was healthy.
It would be absurd if he wasn’t at his best two or three months after the start of the season. The exception is Widener, who started the season in late May. Widener, who started the season in May, said he needed time to build up his pitch count as a starter after only pitching out of the bullpen in the United States last year. In fact, his command faltered after the sixth inning and his pitches dropped.
In four games, he went 2-1 with a 6.04 ERA. If you look at the numbers alone, it’s not bad, except for the game against Changwon Samsung on the 6th (4⅔ innings, 9 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, 9 runs). On the 11th, against SSG in Changwon, he pitched 5⅔ innings with 3 hits, 7 strikeouts, 4 walks, and 4 runs (3 earned), and on the 17th, against KIA in Gwangju, he pitched 6 innings with 4 hits, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks, and 4 runs (3 earned).
According to baseball statistics site Statiz, his average fastball this season is 143.9 mph. Against the KIA, it was up to 147. He has a fastball, slider, changeup, and slider. He also has a two-seam, but he rarely throws it. He’s not a fastball guy, so he’s more of a fastball guy who relies on the precise command of each pitch.
However, both his fastball and slider had ups and downs in command. Kang identified this as a challenge ahead of the Gwangju KIA game on Sunday. He also said that he was working on improving his slide step, as it was not allowing stolen bases.
Against KIA, the slider movement was definitely good. Before the Gwangju KIA game on the 18th, Kang said, “I think my slider has found its natural form, as has my fastball. He’s a pitcher who utilizes his slider a lot, and it was good.”
He still needs to work on raising his pitch count. “I only pitched in the bullpen last year, so my stamina is not normal. It’s hard to reach 100 pitches. But I want to give him more faith. I expect him to keep his stamina from 80 pitches to seven innings from the next game.”
NC lost foreign ace Eric Peddie to a forearm injury. It’s not a big deal, but it’s time to rest him for a while. With Koo Chang-mo out, Lee Jae-hak returned to the lineup and Yoo Yong-joon 토토체험머니 took over. Shin Min-hyuk and Choi Seong-young also split time between the starting rotation and the bullpen. Now it’s up to Widener to be the backbone of the starting staff.
“The hitters really helped me out, and I was able to pitch at a good pace for six innings. It was a little disappointing to give up a run at the end, but I’m happy to get the win for the team. We’ll try to keep up the good pace in the next game and hopefully do better.”