Are the '196 ⅔ innings + 12 wins' league ace anxious? Will Wilkerson, the 'Jesus of resignation', quell doubts about himself on the mound next year
Are the '196 ⅔ innings + 12 wins' league ace anxious? Will Wilkerson, the 'Jesus of resignation', quell doubts about himself on the mound next year
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Will Aaron Wilkerson (35), the "sajik Jesus" who showed the best performance this season, be seen on the mound of the Lotte Giants next year.
Wilkerson, who joined the Lotte Giants as a substitute for Dan Staley in July last year, quickly adapted to the KBO league. He successfully renewed his contract with Lotte after completing 13 games with seven wins, two losses and an earned run average of 2.26.
This season, Wilkerson did his part by steadily playing the starting rotation despite Barnes' injury and Park Se-woong and Na Kyun-an's sluggish performances. He played in 32 games, winning 12-8 with a 3.84 ERA, achieving double-digit wins in his first full-time season and playing the most innings (196 ⅔ innings) in the league. 안전놀이터
Wilkerson's secret to playing in many innings was not allowing walks. Wilkerson's walk per nine innings was 1.24, the lowest in the league. The strikeout-to-walk ratio was also the highest in the league at 6.19. Although his hit rate was not that low at 0.270, his earned run average (FIP) was second only to the NC Dinos' Kyle Hart (3.10). He was second to none as an ace in the league.
However, some are expressing concern over Wilkerson's renewal, which he felt he needed to do ahead of the next season. For this reason, Wilkerson will turn 36 next year, as well as difficulties in adapting to the pitch clock, which will be officially introduced next year. In fact, Wilkerson was sluggish in 14 games with three wins, two losses and an earned run average of 6.51, as he had difficulty adapting to new environments such as robot referees and pitch clocks in the minor league AAA last year.
Moreover, Lotte has clearly watched Strayley, who has reached the age of 35 from 2022 to 2023, go through a sharp aging curve. The concern that Wilkerson, who enjoys head-to-head games with batters, could become just such an ordinary pitcher is not completely unfounded.
However, he has to renew his contract with a foreign pitcher who showed top performance because something that has not even happened. Attention is focusing on whether Wilkerson will be able to calm down suspicions against him at the Sajik Stadium next year by renewing his contract with Lotte.