The return of Ryu Hyun-jin (36‧ Toronto) offers many hopes to Toronto. He’s been a bit erratic in the first half, but he’s been a solid addition to the Toronto rotation, which has been relatively straight in the second half. Ryu Hyun-jin’s pitching level is a great comfort to Toronto, which is fighting all-out to advance to the postseason.
This is Ryu Hyun-jin, who underwent elbow ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John surgery) in June of last year and has undergone long-term rehabilitation for more than a year. Of course, his senses cannot be perfect in the early stages of his comeback. He has to fight with tension on the mound as well. As he has to think about the team situation that is desperate for victory, the pressure gets worse. However, Ryu Hyun-jin is also a veteran. He is cruising with perfect speed control. Looking at the results of the last four games, he is more stable than any other starting pitcher in Toronto.스포츠토토
Ryu Hyun-jin recorded an average ERA of 1.89 with 2 wins and 1 loss in 4 games after his return. He has good overall indicators. His batting average is 0.214 and his on-base per inning (WHIP) is only 1.05. In 2019, which is remembered for a long time as Ryu Hyun-jin’s best season, the batting average was 0.234 and the WHIP was 1.01. Of course, it is a sample of 4 games, but considering his elbow surgery gap, you can see how excellent his performance is.
Leading indicators are also good. The number of home runs a pitcher can block is only 0.47 per 9 innings. He also manages his exit velocity very well. He averaged an exit velocity of 86.8 miles (139.7 km) over his four games, which was outstanding. This is not much different from 86.6 miles (139.4 km) in 2019, and is lower than 2020 (87 miles), which ranked third in the American League Cy Young Award voting. Even if he cannot continue to maintain an ERA of 1 point in the future, at least it gives hope that good quality pitching will be able to continue.
The cast of ‘Sportsnet’, a Canadian sports network and Toronto-hosted broadcaster, is picking two things as the secret to Ryu Hyun-jin’s good fight. First of all, it is a variety of pitches. Ryu Hyun-jin throws four types of pitches, including a four-seam fastball, a changeup, a curveball, and a cut fastball. He has nothing to do with either one. ‘Sportsnet’ broadcaster analyzes that Ryu Hyun-jin’s characteristics make it difficult for hitters to predict what kind of ball the next ball will be.
And the difference in speed between the types of pitches is also large. Buck Martinez, a veteran commentator at ‘Sportsnet’, praised him, saying, “He throws a 60-mph curveball and an 80-mph fastball. It’s hard for hitters to classify.” It is easy to say, but it is impossible without the perfection of each type of pitch. This is because if the value of a particular pitch decreases, it can be discarded.
Such a ‘Sportsnet’ broadcaster now pointed out just one more key to Ryu Hyun-jin. It seems that the senses have returned, so it is only necessary to return more restraints. On the 21st (Korean time), the broadcaster of ‘Sports Net’ continued the story with one topic when Ryu Hyun-jin fought hard in the game against Cincinnati. It was redemption. In fact, Ryu Hyun-jin had a good pitch against Cincinnati with 2 runs in 5 innings (no earned runs), but his speed was far off.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s highest speed on this day was 89.6 miles (144.2 km), which fell short of 90 miles. In the previous three races, even though his velocity was uneven, his best velocity was over 90 mph. His average speed also dropped slightly to 87.4 miles (140.7 km). Ryu Hyun-jin’s average speed of four-seam this season was 88.3 miles (142.1 km), which was lower than this. Ryu Hyun-jin’s average velocity for four-seam fastballs in 2022 was 89.3 miles.
The ‘Sportsnet’ broadcaster pointed out, “Ryu Hyun-jin’s four-seam average speed fell by about 1 mile compared to before Tommy John surgery, but this day’s speed fell 2 miles (3.2 km) more than that.” If it sticks, it will be more difficult to hit.”
No matter how well Ryu Hyun-jin controls the pace, there will always be a time when he has to play in the strike zone with his fastball. And the fastball may have rotation or movement, but in the end, physical restraint cannot be ignored. The faster the velocity, the less time batters have to react. The saying “the hardest ball to hit is the fast ball that becomes the first pitch” is still in use. That’s why the 100 mile fireballer is crazy about it.
However, it is highly likely that the redemption will gradually increase as time goes on. It’s because the strength comes back and the senses come back. Ryu Hyun-jin was also optimistic that there would be good results if he did not think in a hurry and went as it should, saying, “The redemption will rise a little more.” With his elbow no longer sore, he can expect better results even if he only averages 90 miles, which is the level of 2020 and 2021.