WagerTalk Asian baseball handicapper Tokyo Brandon shares his thoughts on the upcoming KBO playoffs, culminating in the Korean Series. The KT Wiz took first place in the regular season finale, and in doing so, earned themselves a bye all the way to the Korean Series which is Korea’s version of the World Series.<\/p>\n
KT finished the regular season 76-59-9. To win at baseball, it goes without saying, you have to have good pitching and hitting. Next you need good fielding and other skills like base running and bunting. How do the KT Wiz rank in the main measurables of baseball? Let’s take a look.<\/p>\n
KT as a team rank #2 out of 10 in overall pitching behind LG. I use several stats to get my rankings, including team ERA, FIP, xFIP and WHIP.<\/p>\n
Rotation: The four pillars of the KT rotation consist of Ko Young Pyo, Odrisamer Despaigne, Bae Jae Seong and William Cuevas. The worst ERA of the bunch is 4.12 and all of them have 130 or more innings pitched. They combine for a 42-31 record and the average WHIP is 1.32. Ko Young Pyo is the ace with a 2.12 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 166+ innings pitched. His FIP is 2.78 and his K rate per 9 is 7.03. His walk rate is a little high but the WHIP and FIP suggest he has no problem getting out of trouble. This is a top-2 rotation in the league no questions asked.<\/p>\n
Bullpen: According to my numbers KT has the best bullpen in the league. They have a combined 3.15 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 7.18 K\/9 and 4.53 BB\/9. In the KBO those are stellar numbers. Compare that to middle of the pack #5 Kiwoom’s bullpen numbers of 4.04 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 6.01 K\/9, and 5.76 BB\/9. Once they have a lead KT can shut the opponent down better than anyone, including LG.<\/p>\n
I have KT ranked #4 out of 10 in hitting. These numbers are made up of stats such as AVG, OPS, WOBA and other power\/on base measurables. KT scores 4.66 runs per game and steals the second most bases behind Samsung. They are not a huge power team, as they rank only #6 of 10 in home runs. They are very good at manufacturing runs and can steal to put runners in scoring position very well. Their runs per game rank 4 of 10.<\/p>\n
Looking at the teams left at the time of this article, no other team has the balance that KT has. Samsung has the power but they lack in rotation and bullpen and lose many games at the end. Doosan has the power as well but are missing key players due to injury and they have big holes in the rotation and bullpen. Power alone can win you a game or two but generally does not win you a series. As far as balance, defense, pitching and runs KT is the best and most balanced team in the KBO. They might lose a game but I do not see them losing a marathon series. Their run scoring is definitely enough to back the elite rotation and bullpen. I would be surprised if KT loses the Korean Series this year.<\/p>\n
\nI just released a play in the KBO playoff game tonight @WagerTalk<\/a> and here is a free video preview of the Korea Series.<\/p>\n
An offer for my whole 2022 KBO and Japanese baseball seasons will be out in the next 24 hours.https:\/\/t.co\/cahGi7E8bx<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/5k0iEVQR1Q<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Tokyo Brandon \ud83d\udd34 (@JPBaseballTV) November 8, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n