A 203cm tall giant, yet the ball comes out from such an angle... 'Dramatic joining' LG's new foreign investor is about to make his KBO debut! Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop expected

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean KBO League debut of John Kennedy (32), who has dramatically joined the LG Twins, is imminent. Commander Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) carefully brought in this new face, viewing him not merely as a pitcher to fill a roster spot but as a force equivalent to thousands of troops and ten thousand horses.

Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop announced on the 18th ahead of the Jamsil KT Wiz game that "Kennedy will be registered with the first division team starting tomorrow (the 19th) and will enter games."

On the 15th, LG acquired Australian left-handed pitcher Kennedy as an Asian quota replacement for Lachlan Wells (29) for a total of $20,000 (approximately 28 million won).

The contract process itself was dramatic. LG completed all procedures, including the issuance of a work visa, and finalized Kennedy's KBO player registration on the 15th. According to KBO regulations, foreign players participating in the postseason of the current season must complete their contracts and registration by August 15. Had the visa issuance been even slightly delayed, Kennedy would have been usable only during the regular season. LG front office officials, including General Manager Cha Myeong-seok, rushed administrative procedures through a method involving third countries to meet the deadline.

The reason for putting so much effort into acquiring Kennedy was not merely to bolster the bullpen. He was originally classified as a player targeted by the LG club, and the timing happened to be perfect. Manager Yeom stated, "I saw him throwing in the bullpen yesterday; his control is good and he has great deception. Additionally, he possesses a changeup against right-handed batters, allowing him to face both left- and right-handed hitters without restriction. Of course, we need to judge based on what we see, but for us, where it is not easy to get to closer Son Ju-young, he will be a great asset."

Similar evaluations were made in the United States as well. Although Kennedy possesses a large frame of 203cm and 111kg, he has characteristics slightly different from a typical tall fireballer. During his time in the U.S. minor leagues, his fastball was primarily thrown at speeds between 142-146 km/h, reaching up to around 150 km/h. Instead, the deception generated from his low three-quarter arm angle enhanced the power of his fastball.

Despite his long limbs, he received evaluations that his pitching motion and arm position are consistent, allowing him to throw consistently around the strike zone. The changeup, coming from an arm swing similar to his fastball, doubled the effectiveness of his straight pitch.

Most impressively, his ability to suppress walks stands out. During his minor league career spanning 94 games and 186⅓ innings, Kennedy allowed only 30 walks. His walk rate was a mere 1.4 per nine innings, while his strikeout count reached 8.

Although much time has passed, his strengths have not disappeared. In the 2025-2026 season of the Australian Baseball League (ABL) with Brisbane, Kennedy started all 10 games and pitched 52⅓ innings, allowing only 5 walks. He recorded 44 strikeouts and a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 1.11. Although he never stepped onto the major league stage, he was a player who consistently maintained his game sharpness, even making it onto the Australian national team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

These strengths are expected to allow him to play the role of a reliable reliever leading up to closer Son Ju-young in the later innings of games. Furthermore, LG needed more bullpen support due to the call-up of Kim Young-woo (20) for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games representative team. If Kennedy can reliably handle one inning until then, the options for bullpen management will increase significantly.

It remains to be seen whether Kennedy, who joined dramatically, can become a card that changes LG's autumn fate.

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*This content was translated by AI.