KIA’s new foreign pitcher, Adonis Medina (27), is a player who drew attention for his quick speed at the time of joining. He has already been ‘certified’ in the major leagues for balls in the mid-150 km/h range. Medina also recalled, “I threw up to 159 km in the major leagues.”
Of course, it is a shame when playing with the bullpen, but Medina’s speed is evaluated at a level that can work well enough in the KBO League. Medina, who had one no game in the rain, made his official debut as a starter in the match against Doosan held at the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 9th. On this day, he recorded 4 hits (1 home run), 6 strikeouts and 3 runs in 6 innings, recording a quality start (6 or more innings and 3 earned runs or less).
As confirmed in the Okinawa camp practice game and demonstration game, the speed was attractive. On this day, Medina threw 33 two-seam fastballs, 23 cut fastballs, and two four-seam fastballs. As evaluated, he mainly threw a modified fastball called two-seam and cutter rather than four-seam. He didn’t have many straight balls. Redemption was a passing point. The two-seamer recorded a maximum of 151 km and an average of 147 km. The cutter was formed at the level of 135 ~ 144 km.
There was a scene where the two-seamers were crowded in the middle and hit a home run by Yang Seok-hwan in the first inning, but overall, the two-seam movement seemed not bad. Even with the naked eye, I could see the movement of being rolled into the body of the right-handed hitter. It is a pitch that can induce many grounders. Yoon Seok-min, a former pitcher who was popular at the time, explains that he has a wrist angle and rotation axis that are basically good for movement.
Commissioner Yoon said, “When Medina throws the ball, if you look at the slow picture, her wrist is slightly lying. There is an advantage to making a two-seam movement.” He continued, “I don’t feel like throwing the ball hard, maybe because I turned to the starter. If you make up your mind and throw it hard, it will come out in the second half of the 150km range,” he said, reinforcing Medina’s confidence that he had thrown 159km in the major leagues. 안전놀이터
However, there is one pitch that is unfavorable because of that wrist angle. It is a slider that Medina uses as a breaking ball for right-handed hitters. Medina’s slider belongs to a slider with a large angle rather than high speed. On this day, the speed of the slider (18 pitches) was formed at the level of 127 to 132 km. Because the wrist is lying down, it is relatively difficult to create the slider’s trajectory. If something is gained, something is lost.
Commissioner Yun, who threw the slider well during his active career, said, “Because Medina’s slider has a large angle, it is highly likely that batters will see the trajectory from the start of the pitch and determine that it is a breaking ball. So, it is dangerous to be driven in the middle,” he said, pointing out the complementary point, saying, “I think (the content of pitching) would be good on days when the slider falls well outside the right-handed hitter, but there seems to be a part that goes back and forth.”
If the angle drops sharply to the outside of a right-handed hitter, it is not a trajectory for a good bat to hit. However, if driven, a long hit may be allowed. In fact, Kang Seung-ho’s timely hit, which was the reason for Medina’s defeat that day, also fell in the center of the slider. Kang Seung-ho looked at his trajectory and seemed to recognize that it was a slider. It is worth saying that Medina’s homework is to improve the pitch type of the slider and reduce misplaced pitches.