*This content was translated by AI.
Shay Witcom (28, minor under the Houston Astros), who was in charge of the infield of the Korean national team at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March, has devastated the U.S. minor league stage this season and is demonstrating his force to re-enter the big league.
Witcom, a member of the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys under Houston, started the game against Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (under the Miami Marlins) at Jacksonville Bister Stadium in Florida on the 2nd (Korea time) and became the team's 10-3 victory with a phenomenal performance of 2 hits (two home runs) and 5 RBIs in 5 at-bats.
Witcomb, who finished preheating by striking out a rookie in his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with no outs and no outs, fired from his second at-bat. After letting go of two balls with one out and runners on second and third in the top of the second inning with the team leading 2-0, he perfectly pulled the curveball of opposing starter Dex Fulton at 85.9 miles per hour (about 138 km/h) and hit a three-run home run over the left fence.
Whitcomb's bat didn't stop here. In the top of the sixth inning, when the team was chasing 6-3, he once again hit a two-run home run against Cade Gibbs, a pitcher who changed the runner to second base. It was a wedge shot that made it 8-3 and completely brought the victory. With his multi-homer performance on the day, Witcom's batting average for the season soared to 0.364 and OPS (on-base plus slugging) soared to 1.073.
Witcom, whose mother is Korean, made a strong impression wearing the Korean national team uniform at the 2026 WBC held in March. From the preparation process of the WBC, he performed well worthy of the nickname of the minor league home run king. He started a home run from a practice game in Osaka in early March, and played a key role in the Korean batting line-up by recording consecutive home runs against the Czech Republic.
Witcom's final performance in the tournament was .214 with an OPS of 0.981 with a batting average of 0.214, showing the aspect of a "slugger" who hits a shot when necessary. In particular, the OPS was 0.981, ranking second in the team after LG Twins' Moon Bo-kyung (1.464). During his time on WBC, Witcom also expressed his slightly cruel feelings about his mother, who did not teach him Korean when he was a child.
Witcom, who joined Houston as the 160th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2020 Major League Rookie Draft, is a proven long hitter with 129 home runs in the minor league. In the 2023 season, he became the minor league home run king with a whopping 35 home runs. Having experienced his big league debut as a member of Houston in the 2024 season, he is currently bombing Triple-A.
In the end, the problem is that Houston's infield depth is solid. However, the story is different if Witcom's batting pace at the beginning of this season. From the Houston team's point of view, it will be difficult to turn a blind eye to Witcom's "powerless protest" until long. Fans are paying attention to whether "Taegeuk Warriors" Witcom will be able to hit a home run again at the Major League at-bat soon.
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*This content was translated by AI.
