He is having an outstanding debut season. However, it seems far from ‘mourning clothes’.
The New York Mets spent a large amount of money on building the team ahead of this season. Justin Verlander was recruited in the free agent market, and Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo, two ‘house rabbits’, were also paid a lot of money to remain. In addition to these, they signed many ‘quasi-level’ contracts and started the season with an overwhelming top salary. Thanks to owner Steve Cohen’s ‘non-dry wallet’, the team was able to form a team while ‘ignoring’ the luxury tax penalty.
However, the Mets’ season was a complete failure, and their elimination from the postseason was confirmed early on. The two aces, Verlander and Max Scherzer, were all traded in the summer market. Diaz, who signed the highest bullpen contract ever, was out of the WBC before the season even started. In fact, almost all contracts except Nemo were ‘failures’.
In this situation, there was a ‘new family member’ who supported the Mets this season. This is Koda Senga, a Japanese pitcher who came across the Pacific Ocean. The Mets signed a five-year, $75 million contract with Senga, who attempted the Major League through posting last offseason. Due to the failure of Yusei Kikuchi (TOR), expectations for the Japanese ace were lower than before, but the Mets, who had nothing but money, opened their wallets and gave a large amount of money.
The beginning was ambiguous. Senga pitched 5.1 innings and gave up one run in his debut game, and also became the winning pitcher in his second appearance, pitching 6 innings and allowing one run. However, he faltered, allowing 4 runs in 4.2 innings and 4 runs in 5 innings against the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants, respectively, and gave up 5 runs in 5 innings again in a trip to the Cincinnati Reds in May. After completing his first seven appearances, his record at the time was 4 wins, 2 losses, and an earned run average of 4.14. He was okay, but he wasn’t the ‘ace’ that was expected.
However, after adapting, Senga began to increase his pace in earnest in mid-May. Although he showed brief ups and downs, he stably established himself as a starting pitcher who stayed on the mound for 5-6 innings, up to 7 innings. Since the game against the St. Louis Cardinals (6.2 innings, 4 runs) on June 18th (hereinafter Korean time), he has allowed less than 3 earned runs in all games, and has achieved quality starts 10 times in 12 appearances in the second half of the game.
Senga, who had an ERA of 4.14 in the first seven games, recorded an ERA of 2.61 in the next 21 games. Senga’s season performance, who has never recorded a monthly ERA in the 4-point range since April, has steadily improved, and as of September 22, he recorded 12 wins, 7 losses, and an ERA of 2.96 in 161.1 innings in 28 games, with only two outs in the season’s regulation innings. It is left behind (hereinafter recorded as of 9/22).
The average ERA of 2.96 is the 4th highest in the major leagues. Not only is he the Mets team’s ace, but he is also producing results that can be considered the league’s leading ace. He is also excellent at striking out, striking out 194 batters in 161.1 innings. His number of innings is somewhat low compared to other pitchers, so his number of strikeouts is not among the highest, but his 10.82 strikeouts per 9 innings are excellent enough to rank him 6th in the entire major league.
If limited to the National League, it ranks among the top in many categories, including wins (tied for 8th), ERA (2nd), strikeouts (tied for 7th), and hitting percentage (0.209, 5th), excluding innings (19th). there is. WAR (Winning Contribution Compared to Replacement Players), which can be considered a comprehensive indicator, is also high enough, with bWAR ranked 3rd in the National League (4.4) and fWAR ranked 8th (3.5). This is a performance worthy of being mentioned as a Cy Young Award candidate.
However, in the Cy Young Award race, there are already strong candidates in the league. Blake Snell (SD) is ranked first in ERA overall. Snell, who pitched 174 innings in 31 games this season and recorded 14 wins, 9 losses, an ERA of 2.33, and 227 strikeouts, is a ‘flawless pitcher’ this season, except for the number of walks allowed (97, the most in ML). The most likely player to win the National League Cy Young Award. It is difficult for Senga, who is slightly inferior to Snell in all indicators except walks allowed, to surpass Snell in Cy Young Award voting.
Senga is a rookie who debuted in the major league this year. He deserves to challenge for Rookie of the Year. However, it is difficult to say that he is ahead of the Rookie of the Year competition. It is true that he has outstanding results among rookies, but this is because there are stronger candidates. This is Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll.
Carroll hit .286/.363/.511 with 25 home runs, 73 RBI, and 50 stolen bases in 147 games this season. Carroll, who became the first rookie in Major League history to simultaneously achieve 25 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, is attracting attention as a player with precision, slugging power, and quick feet, and as a next-generation star. He is showing the most outstanding hitting among rookies this season, and the only batters in the National League who have recorded better results than Carroll are MVP candidates Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson (ATL), Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman (LAD).
Carroll is also ahead of Senga in WAR, and the fact that Senga is a ‘veteran’ with more than 10 years of experience in the Japanese professional baseball stage, while Carroll is a young player born in 2000 is also a factor in which ‘votes’ are inevitably directed towards Carroll rather than Senga. In the Rookie of the Year voting, there is a high possibility that he will fall behind Carroll, who is being evaluated as having already confirmed the Rookie of the Year award.
Senga is having a great debut season and is once again raising the rating of Asian aces, but unfortunately, it seems difficult to have a relationship with ‘Sang’. Of course, it is not only meaningful if there is a Cy Young Award or a Rookie Award. Senga dispelled concerns and created the best season, becoming a consolation to the Mets, who spent an astronomical amount of money.
BY: 토토사이트웹