The Lotte Giants announced on the 13th that they will recruit left-hander Tucker Davis (28) as a new foreign pitcher, officially breaking up with “Inning Eater” Aaron Wilkerson (35). This is not irrelevant to lowering the fence height of their home stadium (Sajik Stadium in Busan).
Wilkerson, who joined Lotte as a substitute in the second half of the 2023 season, re-signed for $950,000 in 2024 after recording seven wins (two losses) and a 2.26 ERA in 13 games he pitched. He also had 12 wins (eight losses) in 32 appearances in the 2024 season, showing good performance. Although his earned run average (3.84) has increased year-on-year, he also topped the league in this category by blocking a total of 196 2/3 innings.
Lotte has put an end to accompanying Wilkerson in order to gain better capability. “Davidson has a high RBI and has good deception (a motion to hide the ball when pitching). He can throw various pitches including four-seam fastballs, sliders, curves, and splitters. Overall, he has an edge over Wilkerson,” a club source said.
Wilkerson’s batting average rose from 0.223 in the 2023 season to 0.270. The on-base allowed rate (WHIP) also rose from 1.09 to 1.21. The decline in ball power was noticeable.
In December 2021, when former general manager Sung Min-gyu was in office, Lotte added a 1.2-meter auxiliary fence at Sajik Stadium, which was originally 4.8-meter. However, the team is again under construction to remove the auxiliary fence this winter. As more young hitters have improved their slugging capability during the 2024 regular season, the team has made changes to increase scoring capability. 먹튀검증
Lowering the fence will inevitably increase the burden on pitchers to allow long balls. Lotte had to consider such a variable in the composition of new foreign pitchers. Wilkerson’s ratio of inducing ground balls (210) to 319 fly balls in the last two seasons (2023-2024).
Davidson is a “ground ball-guided” pitcher. Based on 142 games (600 1/3 innings) in which he pitched in the Minor League, the ratio of a ground ball to a flying ball was 1.07. He recorded 1.25 in the Major League, where he played 129 and 2/3 innings in total.
Davison’s average pitching speed in the MLB is 92.4 miles (148.7 kilometers per hour). This is comparable to that in the KBO league. Sliders are breaking balls with confidence, as their overall hitting average reaches 47.0 percent. In the 2023 season, he is equipped with a sweeper and makes good use of splitters and sinkers. In the minor league, Davison left 30 wins (44 losses) and an earned run average of 3.22. In the 2024 season when he was a starting pitcher for Triple-A under the Baltimore Orioles, he recorded 8.10 strikeouts and a 0.242 hit rate per nine innings.
Davidson does not have a stellar track record. However, Lotte chose an adventurous player instead of a proven player considering the direction of operation and the scouting team’s perspective.
