KBO Collections: Card of the Week: Yoo Hee-kwan (Week 10)

Monday, February 13, 2017

Card of the Week: Yoo Hee-kwan (Week 10)

Over the last few weeks there has been plenty of talk about Yoo Hee-kwan in Korean sports news. There have been a few articles about him and his possible inclusion (which didn't happen) in the WBC. If you take a look at his 2016 season numbers you may say that he looks pretty good and should have gotten a shot.

2016 Stats (KBO w/Doosan)

ERA	W-L	SV	HLD	SO	BB	IP
4.41	15-6	0	0	102	58	185 2/3

For those that don't follow the KBO or don't really know about Yoo, his numbers look fine and he has done really well over the past years posting a record of 55-27 since 2013. So what is the issue with a guy that is putting up good numbers? The issue is his underwhelming power as a pitcher. Yoo's average fastball comes in at just under 80 mph and his other pitches are usually down in the low 70's and upper 60's.

While his ball speeds may be something to scoff at, he makes the best of what he does by being accurate and using ball placement. That combined with the typically hot bats of Doosan make a perfect combination to put wins under his belt. He is also pretty good for a laugh with his on field and off field joking ways. That's why I think it would have been interesting to see him on the squad for Team Korea. Anyway, there is always another shot for him in the future.