Taylor Widener (NC Dinos), who has yet to make his debut, turned on the green light to return to the first team by digesting actual matches.
On the 18th,메이저사이트 Widener started in an away game against the Goyang Heroes (Kiwoom 2nd Division) in the Futures (2nd Division) League held at the Goyang National Baseball Training Center in Gyeonggi-do on the 18th.
Widener is a right-handed pitcher who joined NC ahead of this season. In addition to his good control, NC paid attention to the power of his fastball, which reached up to 155 km.
It was not far before NC Dinos Widener joined the first team. Photo = Provided by NC
However, an unexpected injury caught him off guard. He suffered a back injury during an exhibition game just before the opening. Because of this, Widener was not named in the opening entry, and he did not appear in the first team even once. Afterwards, while building his body in the rehabilitation group, he had a real game appearance that day and spurred his return to the first team.
Widener showed off his good condition from the beginning of the game. In the bottom of the first inning, he put Woong-Bin Kim to sleep with a fly to left field, then struck out Song Sung-Moon and Joo Seong-Won consecutively.
At the end of the second inning, his crisis management skills stood out. He got Kim Soo-Hwan and Park Ju-Hong on base with four pitches and right-handed hits, respectively, but took a breather by striking out Kim Geon-hee and Ye Ji-won in a row. Afterwards, he dedicated four balls to Kim Si-ang again and reached the base with 2 outs, but Lee Seung-won was induced with a fly to the left field and prevented a run.
The 3rd inning was relatively clean. Kim Woong-bin and Song Seong-moon were struck out and the first baseman grounded. He allowed 4 pitches to his follow-up hitter Joo Seong-won, but finished his mission that day by striking out Kim Soo-hwan.
The final score was 3 innings, 1 hit, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts, and no runs. His total number of pitches was 57, and his highest velocity was counted to 149 km.
Widener, who has one more appearance in the Futures League, is expected to return to the first team at the earliest at the end of this month. NC coach Kang In-kwon, who met ahead of the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes match (4-7 NC loss) on the 12th, said, “My estimate (Widener’s return to the first team) will be around the end of May. He will be able to make his first appearance within the 28th, 29th and 30th.”
While Widener was missing, NC formed a starting lineup with Eric Peddy, Koo Chang-mo, Lee Yong-jun, Shin Min-hyuk, and Song Myeong-ki. Before the game on the 19th, Peddy (6 wins, 1 loss, 1.26 ERA), Koo Chang-mo (1 win, 3.28 ERA), and Lee Yong-jun (2 wins, 1.53 ERA) are doing their part, but Shin Min-hyeok (5.46 ERA) and Song Myung-gi (average ERA of 4.81) is somewhat less stable. If Widener returns to the starting lineup, NC will be able to build a starting lineup that is not enviable.
Director Kang also said, “This is the starting lineup that I expected during the camp. If only Widener returns normally at the end of May and adapts and shows himself, I think he will be a starter that is not inferior to other teams.”
Will Widener be able to quickly return to the 1st team and give wings to the NC as expected by coach Kang? Amidst a lot of attention, Widener is scheduled to take the mound in the match against the Samsung Lions Futures team on the 23rd and conduct another inspection.