Last year, the surprise players that entered the foreign player market of the KBO League after finishing the season were Huerto and De Jesus. Both pitchers had enough performance to warrant re-signing, but as Kiwoom faces its final rebuilding season, the team decided to give opportunities to young pitchers and shifted direction to acquire two foreign hitters to strengthen their weakened offense.
Still, I thought at least one of them would remain. A proven ace was needed, but for some reason, Kiwoom did not retain either pitcher. Both pitchers were excluded from the reserved player list, allowing them to sign with other teams in the KBO League. Consequently, other teams contacted the two players, wondering, 'What is this good fortune?' Multiple teams engaged in a competition for their acquisition.
KT was the first to sign De Jesus, and Samsung became the winner of the acquisition race for Huerto. Since neither was a re-signing, they were contracted at $1 million under the new foreign player salary cap in the KBO. Samsung and KT, having secured proven foreign pitchers, received accolades as offseason winners, and starting from the opening game on 22nd, both pitchers achieved quality starts.
Huerto secured a victory against his 'former team' in Daegu. He pitched 6 innings, allowing 8 hits (including 1 home run), 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs, leading to a dominant 13-5 win. Although he struggled early on with pitches slightly missing the zone, he regained command from the 3rd inning onwards, passing through the next 4 innings in just 46 pitches. His fastball speed averaged at 146 km/h, not extraordinarily fast, but he displayed stability with border-line pitches utilizing various pitches such as two-seam, cutter, changeup, slider, and curve.
Left-hander De Jesus also delivered an impressive performance. Against the Hanwha Eagles in Suwon, he pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, and 1 earned run. Although the team lost 3-4 in a comeback defeat, De Jesus's pitching was powerful. He consistently struck the strike zone with a strong fastball, reaching a maximum speed of 154 km/h and an average speed of 150 km/h, overpowering the Hanwha lineup. With a tricky deception where the left arm was hidden behind before emerging, he threw pitches that left left-handed hitters unable to connect easily, including sliders.
While Huerto and De Jesus successfully found their footing in new teams, the left-handed Rosenberg, acquired by Kiwoom, had a rough initiation. In the Daegu game against Samsung, he was removed early after pitching 3 innings, allowing 8 hits (including 1 home run), 3 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 4 strikeouts, and 8 earned runs. There were aspects where he did not receive help from the outfield defense; however, Rosenberg's pitching itself was not good. His fastball speed was only an average of 144 km/h, and his control was lacking as well, issuing 2 straight walks and even a wild pitch.
Of course, one game cannot evaluate everything. Last year, De Jesus also crumbled in his first appearance of the season against NC on March 26, pitching 3⅓ innings, allowing 6 hits (including 1 home run), 3 walks, 2 hit by pitches, 6 strikeouts, and 5 earned runs (4 earned). However, he adapted to the league with three consecutive quality starts from his next appearance, leading to a successful season.
Kiwoom faced a backlash for failing to target Huerto from the opening game, but they benefitted from the effectiveness of the two foreign hitters. Yasiel Puig went 2 for 3, including a home run, with 2 RBIs and 1 walk, while Ruben Cardines swung a hot bat with 3 hits out of 4 at-bats and 1 RBI. While the 1st and 2nd starters may be a different story, they confirmed the potential to compete in slugfests on days when the 3rd to 5th starters are on the mound.
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