*This content was translated by AI.
U.S. local media made an interesting analysis on the re-entry of Vince Velazquez (34), who the KBO League Lotte Giants recruited as a "winner" for fall baseball in the middle of the 2025 season. The reason why the pitcher, who had a good performance in Triple-A, left a near-disaster performance only on the Korean mound was highlighted.
Chicago-based sports media "Sports Mockery" recently signed a minor league with the Chicago Cubs on the 7th (Korea Standard Time) and analyzed the prospects and expectations of Velazquez, who is seeking to re-enter the Major League, and mentioned his time in the KBO League in the 2025 season.
The media noted that Velazquez's 2025 report card is extremely mixed. Velazquez pitched in 18 games (18 starts) for Triple-A under the Cleveland Guardians until just before joining Lotte, and had a stable ERA of 3.42 in 81.2 innings. His ball power remained strong enough to wipe out 95 strikeouts.
However, Velazquez's results after joining Lotte were disastrous. Playing in 11 games (7 starts), he had the worst record of 1 win, 4 losses and an 8.23 ERA in 35 innings. The hit rate reached 0.324, and the on-base allowed rate per inning (WHIP) was 1.86. It meant sending out nearly two runners per inning. "Sport Mockery" also expressed, "It has achieved a disaster-level performance at Lotte."
The media pointed to the environment as the cause of the sluggishness in Korea. In the article, "It is difficult to judge the exact situation in Korea because it is a small sample of 35 innings," but added, "Maybe there were difficulties adapting to the new type of ball or other environmental reasons." But most importantly, he expected a rebound, saying, "I proved my health by fully playing the 2025 season."
According to the report, Velazquez's pitch and control in Triple-A in the U.S. are likely to have been shaken sharply when he met with a South Korean official ball with different heights and rebound coefficients. He also speculated that the league's unique environmental changes, such as ABS (automatic pitching judgment system) implemented in the KBO league, would have been a bigger obstacle than expected for the major league veteran.
As such, the possibility of Velazquez's rebound is surprisingly high in the region. Like Chris Flexen (32, Doosan Bears), who returned to the Major League after playing for the Doosan Bears in the past, Velazquez also expressed his expectation that he could be a "dark horse" on the Cubs mound if he was in a healthy body. As a member of the Cubs in the 2025 season, Flexen had a decent performance of 5-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 21 games (one start). The hit rate was 0.232 and the WHIP was only 1.15.
"Sports Mockery" ended with a positive outlook for his 2026 season, saying, "Although expectations are low, Velazquez, who has recovered his health, can be a cost-effective card to fill the gaps in the Cubs bullpen or the starting lineup."
Attention is focusing on whether Velazquez, who has become a memory that Lotte fans want to erase, will be able to prove that the "KBO Brutal History" was simply due to the environment on the U.S. stage.
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*This content was translated by AI.
