'How could this happen?' The 155 km/h Lotte Japanese pitcher who vanished a month ago is finally replaced... "We will look for a better player"

*This content was translated by AI.

The Lotte Giants have finally made a decision. Koyama Masaya (28), an Asia quota player who was highly anticipated for throwing a fastball reaching speeds of up to 155 km/h, is finally going through the replacement process.

Kim Tae-hyung, Lotte's manager, said on the 4th ahead of the Gwangju KIA game, "I understand the club is looking for a replacement player. However, it seems the Asia quota pool is somewhat limited."

Koyama is a right-handed fireballer with 84 games of experience in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). From the time he joined the team, he drew high expectations as part of a trio of high-velocity foreign pitchers along with Alvin Rodriguez (28) and Jeremy Wisely (31).

To be blunt, his performance was disappointing. In 10 first-division games, he recorded no wins, one hold, and one loss, with an ERA of 7.59 over 10 2/3 innings, allowing 9 walks and striking out 13 batters, showing significant struggles. Ultimately, he was sent to the minor league twice and has not appeared in the first division since his appearance in the Busan KIA game on the 8th of last month.

Control issues, which were pointed out from the time of his signing, were a major problem. Over 84 games in NPB, Koyama allowed 160 walks, averaging 5.2 walks per 9 innings. Last season on the minor league stage, in 25 games over 23 2/3 innings, he recorded 21 walks and 20 strikeouts, posting an ERA of 8.37, with an alarming 8 walks per 9 innings.

His performance was also poor even in the minor league, where he was sent for retraining. Since May, he started games and posted an ERA of 4.40. In his previous game on May 30 at Sajik Baseball Stadium against the Ulsan Whales in a home minor league match, he allowed 6 hits over 5 1/3 innings with no walks and 4 strikeouts, getting hammered. In 8 Futures League games, he recorded one hold, one loss, an ERA of 6.30, and allowed 13 walks and hit batters (11 walks, 2 hit batters) over 20 innings while striking out 19 batters, showing continued struggles.

Ultimately, the replacement process has begun. Candidates for the replacement included Shiraoka Keisho (25, KIA Tigers), whom Lotte faced today, and Hiramoto Kengo (27, SSG Landers), who entered as a temporary injury replacement last month.

A Lotte club official explained, "We are considering replacing Koyama. Along with our overseas scouts, we have compiled a list of Asia quota players and are continuing to check them. While the current player pool is not sufficient, we are moving to find a better player."

Fortunately, there is good news regarding the strong performances of Lotte's domestic starting pitchers and the return of another high-velocity foreign pitcher, Alvin Rodriguez (28). Rodriguez's stats are 3 wins and 4 losses in 10 games with an ERA of 5.12 over 51 innings and 52 strikeouts, which is below expectations, but he is definitely recognized for his pitching ability thanks to his fastball reaching speeds of up to 157 km/h.

Currently, he is traveling with the first-division team after being excluded from the first-division roster due to back pain. According to a Lotte club official, Rodriguez threw 30 pitches in the bullpen on the 2nd. Fortunately, there was no pain, and he is scheduled to return to the starting rotation in the home game against Hanwha Eagles on the 5th.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "Rodriguez will start the first game against Hanwha. (Lee) Min-seok will pitch once more as a starter, and then he will be given rest."

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*This content was translated by AI.