It frustrates viewers. Despite possessing the ability to sufficiently dominate batters with a good repertoire and pitch variation, corresponding results have not followed. The disappointing appearance of Na Gyun-an, the fifth starter for the Lotte Giants in professional baseball, has resurfaced.
On the 31st of last month, Na Gyun-an made a start against the SSG Landers at Sajik Stadium in Busan, pitching 5 innings and throwing 105 pitches, allowing 4 hits (1 home run), walking 6 batters, striking out 4, and recording 4 earned runs before being pulled. He could not prevent the team's 1-4 loss.
On that day, Na Gyun-an struggled with his control from the first inning. After barely escaping danger through the second inning, he allowed a home run to go Myung-jun in the third inning and gave up 3 earned runs in the fourth inning while surrendering 4 walks. Out of 105 total pitches, 62 were strikes, and 43 were balls.
Na Gyun-an relied on a monotonous pattern. He threw 44 four-seam fastballs topping out at 148 km/h and 45 forkballs, along with 13 cutters and 3 curveballs. The pattern of overly relying on forkballs on a bad day was evident once again. However, his command was not perfect that day either, as there were frequent moments captured in which he grimaced when he couldn't execute his forkballs properly.
Na Gyun-an's season earned run average rose to 4.94. He recorded 3 losses without a win in 11 games. Although he had no wins from the start of the season until the end of April, he had a commendable earned run average of 3.64 (12 earned runs in 29⅔ innings), particularly against opposing ace-level pitchers. There was no other fifth starter like him. However, in June, Na Gyun-an began to falter again, posting 2 losses and an earned run average of 6.48 (18 earned runs in 25 innings). He gave up 5 home runs that month, finding himself in difficult situations. Transitioning from catcher to pitcher, Na Gyun-an had performed well as a swingman during the 2021-2022 season with a record of 4 wins, 10 losses, 3 holds, and 1 save, along with an earned run average of 4.66. However, it was hard to consider him a stable pitcher.
However, in 2023, Na Gyun-an briefly dominated as one of the league's top pitchers. After the start of the 2023 season, he recorded 4 wins and an earned run average of 1.34 (5 earned runs in 33⅔ innings) with 8 walks and 29 strikeouts, earning him the KBO monthly MVP award. He could not maintain the momentum from April, facing ups and downs due to hamstring and elbow injuries.
Nevertheless, in 2023, Na Gyun-an had his best season with 6 wins and 8 losses, an earned run average of 3.80 (55 earned runs in 130⅓ innings). He also hung a gold medal around his neck at the Hangzhou Asian Games. It seemed as if the 'transformer' myth was being written as he transitioned from catcher to pitcher.
Na Gyun-an has good hand sensitivity as a pitcher. Additionally, he targets the corners of the strike zone when pitching. However, since his transition to pitching, maximizing these abilities has been challenging.
This coincided with the arrival of Yoo Kang-nam, a catcher possessing the best framing in the league. Na Gyun-an's ability to utilize the borderline was maximized by Yoo Kang-nam's framing. By working together with Yoo Kang-nam, he soared, achieving a career-high season. His walks per 9 innings dropped from 3.35 in 2021-2022 to 2.90 in 2023. Although his strikeouts per 9 innings decreased from 8.23 to 7.87, his strikeout-to-walk ratio recorded the best figure at 2.71. However, Na Gyun-an began to fall from grace starting in 2024. Personal issues intertwined, creating a turbulent environment around him, and his performance dramatically declined.
In 2024, Na Gyun-an had the worst season since his transition to pitching, posting 4 wins and 7 losses with an earned run average of 8.51 over 26 games (14 starts). Most notably, his walks increased significantly. In 2023, he allowed 2.90 walks per 9 innings, and throughout his career, he allowed an average of 3.15 walks, but in 2024, he allowed 5.79 walks per 9 innings. Despite striking out 9.12 batters per 9 innings, Na Gyun-an could not counteract this decline. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was 1.57.
The same trend has continued this year. He allowed 4.94 walks per 9 innings, and his strikeouts also dropped to 6.75 per 9 innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio decreased to 1.37. With 30 walks allowed this year, he is second in the league behind Colerbin (Doosan) who has 35.
Perhaps the introduction of the ABS system is also related. Implemented from the 2024 season, machines rather than humans now determine the strike zone. An unyielding strike zone has been formed where a catcher's framing no longer works, posing a critical challenge to Na Gyun-an, who relies on borderline pitching. In the past, pitches that could have been declared strikes were now mercilessly judged as balls. Looking at Na Gyun-an's games, there are rarely absurd pitches that miss the strike zone. All of them became balls close to the strike zone. As this piled up, the walks increased, drawing Na Gyun-an deeper into a quagmire.
Though he has good stuff, he has not been able to utilize it properly, becoming prey to simple fastball-forkball patterns. Manager Kim Tae-hyoung requests aggressive pitching, but Na Gyun-an has been unable to easily change his pattern.
Having expected at least minimal contributions as the fifth starter, Na Gyun-an has once again disappointed this season. Lotte may soon need to initiate another fifth starter audition.
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