Pitcher Go Woo-seok (27) of the Miami Marlins' Double-A affiliate Pensacola Blue Wahoos threw a scoreless inning in Single-A.
While rehabilitating with the Miami Single-A Jupiter Hammerheads, Go Woo-seok pitched on the 29th (Korea time) in a Single-A game against the Daytona Tortugas (affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds) at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida.
With the team trailing 4-5 in the 7th inning, Go Woo-seok took the mound as the team's fourth pitcher and struck out the first batter, Sammy Stafura, for a Samjin with a full count, inducing a swing-and-miss with a 94.8 mph (152.6 km/h) four-seam fastball.
He then allowed a single to Esmith Pineda, but got Bernard Moon to fly out to left field. After issuing a straight walk to Carter Graham, creating a two-out, first and second base crisis, he struck out Ryan McCrystal for a swing-and-miss Samjin with a splitter.
He pitched 1 inning, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk, with 2 strikeouts, and no runs scored. Overcoming a previous outing on the 24th against the St. Lucie Mets (affiliated with the New York Mets), where he gave up 3 hits and 2 walks, resulting in 1 strikeout and 3 runs, he lowered his Single-A season earned run average from 9.00 to 7.20.
With a total of 25 pitches, he threw 14 strikes and 11 balls. He mixed his pitches by throwing more splitters (12) than four-seam fastballs (10), which reached a peak speed of 94.8 mph (152.6 km/h) and an average of 94 mph (151.3 km/h), along with 2 sliders and 1 curve.
Go Woo-seok, who recorded 139 saves over 7 seasons in the KBO League while serving as the closer for the LG Twins, challenged Major League Baseball by signing a guaranteed 2-year, $4.5 million contract with the San Diego Padres last January.
However, after struggling with a decline in pitching performance during spring training, he failed to secure a spot on the opening roster and began the season in Double-A. Unable to make a notable impact in Double-A either, he became a trade candidate and was traded to Miami on May 5 of last year along with three prospects as part of the compensation for batting champion infielder Luis Arraez.
Expectations were that Go Woo-seok would get a call-up with the Miami team, which has less strength than San Diego, but that did not happen. After being designated for assignment (DFA) on May 31 without any interested teams, he failed to secure a trade and was removed from the Miami 40-man roster, changing his status to minor leaguer. After being sent down to Double-A on July 12, he finished the season without a promotion. His overall minor league record stands at 44 games (52⅓ innings), with 4 wins, 3 losses, 3 saves, an earned run average of 6.54, and 52 strikeouts.
There were speculations about his possible return to his former team LG last winter, but Go Woo-seok, whose salary of $2.25 million is guaranteed this year, continued his challenge in Major League Baseball. However, luck was not on his side from the start. He arrived at spring training as a invitee, but suffered a fracture in his right index finger while performing shadow pitching, resulting in no appearances in the spring games.
After undergoing rehabilitation for two and a half months, Go Woo-seok announced his return to play in the rookie league on the 9th and has been pitching in Single-A since the 15th. By this day, he has pitched in a total of 5 games, working on improving his condition. Although there have been fluctuations, it is a positive sign that he has thrown as fast as 152.6 km/h while healthy.
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