Eric Pedi, a right-handed pitcher who played for the KBO’s NC Dinos, is reportedly attracting interest from Major League Baseball (MLB) teams.
“Pedi, who went 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA in the NC and won the Choi Dong-Won Award (MLB Cy Young Award), is attracting interest from MLB,” John Heyman of the New York Post reported on his social media accounts on Aug. 8 (KST).토토사이트
Peddy, 31, was once a highly touted prospect when the Washington Nationals selected him with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft.
But he didn’t have much success in the big leagues, posting a 5.41 ERA in 102 appearances from 2017 to 2022.
In 2023, he decided to head to the KBO, where he pitched 180 1/3 innings in 30 starts with a 2.00 ERA.
According to MLBTR, Pedi had a 29.5% strikeout rate, a walk rate of just 4.9%, and a whopping 70% ground ball rate. In 2023, the MLB ground ball rate was 42.5%.
“This makes Pedi an intriguing wild card entering the MLB free agent pitching market this offseason,” MLBTR wrote, noting that they included him on their “honorable mention” list in their recent Top 50 Free Agents article.
“North American pitchers returning from playing in the KBO have had mixed results,” MLBTR said, citing the cases of Merrill Kelly, Chris Flexen and Josh Lindblom.
Kelly spent the last five years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, starting 127 games and posting a 3.80 ERA. Lindblom performed well in South Korea, but had a 6.39 ERA in 20 games for the Milwaukee Brewers. Flexen posted a 3.66 ERA with the Seattle Mariners in 2021 and 2022, but struggled in 2023 with a 6.86 ERA.
MLBTR writes, “Kelly signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal through 2019 from Arizona, while Lindblom signed a year later from Milwaukee for $9.125 million over three years with incentives. Flexen received $4.75 million from Seattle over two years, with a vesting option for 2023.” “Pedi could fare even better than that, given his stellar performance in South Korea and adjusting for inflation.”