After being released from the Miami Marlins' Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, pitcher Koh Woo-seok (27), who signed with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens under the Detroit Tigers, struggled in his first outing since the trade.
Koh appeared in relief on the 28th (Korea Standard Time) in a Triple-A game against the Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox) at the Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and recording 1 strikeout over 1 inning.
After the team fell behind 5-6, Koh took the mound as the second pitcher at the start of the 6th inning, marking his return to live action 12 days after his last game with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp against the Rochester Red Wings on the 16th.
He started by getting the first batter, Brian Ramos, to ground out to shortstop. He threw three consecutive balls before inducing a swing-and-miss with a cutter on his fourth pitch and getting a ground ball with a cutter that reached 88.5 mph (142.4 km/h) on his fifth pitch.
However, he allowed a single to the next batter, Drew Baker. On the third pitch, an 88.3 mph (142.1 km/h) cutter was thrown inside, resulting in a hit.
After allowing a stolen base to second, Koh struck out Adam Hackenberg with a swing-and-miss. He induced the swing-and-miss with a sinking four-seam fastball pitched at 94.4 mph (151.9 km/h) on his fifth pitch.
However, after a wild pitch sent Baker to third, Koh gave up a single to Brooks Baldwin, resulting in a score. On a 1-2 pitch count, he threw a curveball at 80.4 mph (129.4 km/h), but a poorly executed pitch led to a timely hit.
He concluded the game by getting the next batter, Colson Montgomery, out with a line drive to first base, finishing with 19 pitches. Koh threw primarily four-seam fastballs (10) with a maximum speed of 94.8 mph (152.6 km/h), averaging 93.8 mph (151.0 km/h), along with cutters (5), splitters (3), and a curveball (1).
Last January, Koh Woo-seok challenged the majors by signing a guaranteed 2-year, $4.5 million contract with the San Diego Padres, but after a poor performance in spring training, he was excluded from the opening roster and started the season in Double-A. He was traded to Miami on May 5 along with three prospects for 'Batting Champion' Luis Arraez but continued to struggle. After being designated for assignment (DFA) with no teams interested, he transferred his contract to the minor leagues and completed the season in Double-A.
Due to residual contract terms, Koh Woo-seok was preparing for the season with Miami this year. However, he experienced bad luck when he injured his finger during shadow pitching in spring training. After rehabilitation, he was deployed in live games starting from the 9th of last month, moving up to Triple-A after passing through Double-A. He performed well with a 1.59 earned run average over five games, but after being released on the 18th, he did not return to Korea and signed a minor league contract with Detroit on the 24th, continuing his challenge for the major leagues.
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