Undaunted challenger Ko Woo-seok pitched well in his first appearance in the second half of the year, good speed, and bad on two walks. After all, my control is my homework
Jul 21, 2025
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Former KBO League relief pitcher Ko Woo-seok (Detroit Tigers), who continues his lonely challenge toward the major league stage, played an encouraging game in his first appearance in the second half. In terms of his speed, he is good enough to be on the Major League stage right now. He didn't allow a hit, and he didn't give up a score. However, two walks remain a regret.
Ko Woo-seok, who is challenging the big league stage at Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens under the Detroit Tigers, made a relief appearance in a game against the Memphis Redbirds (Triple A under the St. Louis Cardinals) at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio on the 21st (Korea time).
It was Ko Woo-suk's first appearance since the All-Star break. Here, Ko Woo-seok showed his potential again. He pitched a scoreless pitch with one strikeout in one ⅔ inning without getting a hit. However, it was obvious that he had two walks.
Ko Woo-seok, who threw 30 pitches against a total of seven batters, reached a maximum speed of 95.2 miles per hour (about 153.2 kilometers). It is a fastball that does not lag behind ordinary Major League pitchers. Thanks to the scoreless pitching on the day, Ko Woo-seok's ERA also fell from 5.02 to 4.50. It's still too high to expect a major league call-up. It is necessary to continue the scoreless pitching and lower the ERA to at least three points.
On this day, Ko Woo-seok took the mound as the team's fourth pitcher with one out and one on the first base in the top of the fifth inning when he was trailing 2-4. He struck out Matt Lloyd, his first opponent, on three pitches. After the first slider was fouled, he threw a splitter that fell to the low course to induce a swing and miss.
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However, he allowed a walk after a long game of up to 10 pitches with the next batter, Gavin Collins. Collins showed tremendous concentration by fouling four balls after the full count, and Ko Woo-seok lost in the end. The 10th pitch splitter rose high outside.
However, Ko Woo-seok, who was on the first and second bases with two outs, handled Brian Torres with a fly ball to center field to prevent a run. After the first ball, he induced a hit with a heavy four-seam of 94.3 miles on the second pitch. Torres' bat was pushed off the strength.
Ko Woo-seok, who also took the mound in the sixth inning, induced leadoff hitter Andy Yerji to groundout to the first base in three pitches, and then played a natural first base cover play to catch the out count himself. The follow-up Mike Antico also grounded out to second base with only two outs.
However, after two outs, his ball control was shaken again. He gave up a walk against JJ Weatherholt, the opposing leadoff. After throwing two balls in a row, he hit the maximum speed on the third pitch of the day. He drew a swing and miss to the 95.2 mile four-seam thrown into the middle. However, the sixth curve thrown at the full count was too skewed toward the body and became a ball. It was the most regrettable scene in the game.
Fortunately, Ko Woo-seok finished the inning by treating the next batter Nathan Church with a ground ball to the first base in four pitches.
The results of the first appearance in the second half are quite good. It was a good pitching that could erase the slump in early July. Ko Woo-suk struggled quite a bit in July. He threw a total of six ⅔ innings in four games in July before the All-Star break, recording eight hits, six earned runs, three walks, and 10 strikeouts with an 8.10 ERA.
However, in his first appearance in the second half, he showed that he recovered his confidence by playing a no-hit and no-run game. However, walking in four consecutive games still seems to be a task to be solved. Ko Woo-seok appeared in a total of seven games for Toledo and threw 10 ⅓ innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits (one home run) and five walks while recording two saves. He has a 6.10 ERA.
It is certainly an encouraging indicator that he struck out as many as 14 in 10 ⅓ innings. However, the part where the walk comes out in every game is a homework that must be solved. If you reduce your walks and lower your ERA in Toledo, you will definitely have a call-up opportunity in the second half.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
