SSG coach Lee Soo-yong smiled awkwardly when announcing that the club's decision over a foreign player position has been delayed ahead of the match against Doosan in Jamsil on Friday. SSG decided to utilize the injury replacement foreign player system introduced in this year's league after Roenis Elias (36) was forced to sit out for about six weeks due to a muscular dystrophy. Keisho Shirakawa (23), one of the best starting pitchers in the Japanese independent league, caught the eye and announced his official contract on May 24.

In fact, Shirakawa was not the top contender for the SSG. SSG initially tried to find a player in the U.S. As there was no player suitable for the minor league, it trailed the U.S. independent league. However, there was no suitable player. Shirakawa was the player on the radar at the time. He had certain strengths, was a player who constantly threw in the independent league, and did not need to adjust to the time difference. He was also better than other players in the U.S. to deploy players immediately and use them for just six weeks.

Up until then, nobody knew that Shirakawa would have such a big problem with SSG. He expected a good performance, but he thought he would leave the team when Elias returned. Lee's story that he thought he would make a comfortable decision was shared by everyone at the club as well as his fans up until he was recruited. Things have changed, however, as Shirakawa performed better than expected. Now, Shirakawa and Elias are on the same line and are being compared. It is not strange to choose anyone.

Shirakawa played in five games in the first division of the KBO League and posted an ERA of 5.09. Except for the one game he was so nervous that he described himself as "scared," he displayed good pitching performance in all of the remaining games. He allowed no runs in five innings against Kiwoom on June 1, one run in five innings against KIA on June 13, and two runs in six ⅓ against NC on June 21. He also allowed five runs (three earned runs) in five ⅓ in a game against KT in Incheon on June 27.유흥알바

Some predicted that Elias would eventually be chosen due to poor pitching results against kt on Thursday, but internal evaluation of SSG is not the case. There was a part that was a bit unlucky on this day. According to the "Trackman" that provides tracking data to nine KBO League teams, Shirakawa had nine hits on the day, but only two of them were hard hits (hit at over 152.9 kilometers per hour) and Kang Baek-ho's home run was the only hit at over 160 kilometers per hour. Rather, there were more hits below 140 kilometers per hour. In fact, there were many missed hits with good course on the day.

Even though he took the mound in the rotation after taking five days off, his ball speed did not drop. Shirakawa's maximum speed with a four-seam fastball on the day reached 151.1 kilometers per hour. His average speed was 147.9 kilometers, which is the highest this season, exceeding the 147.3 kilometers average) against NC on the 21st, when he had his best pitching. A doubt surrounding Shirakawa is that he is a stamina who can complete the season, but he also hinted at the possibility of overcoming it.

Elias also played in the Futures League match against the South Korean military athletic unit (Sangju Sangmu) on Wednesday, threw a powerful fastball of up to 149 kilometers, completing his schedule for rehabilitation and preparing to return to the first division. Coach Lee Soong-yong delayed the decision, saying, "I think I have to think about it by this week." He added that he had a meeting with the front office and the coaching staff over the two players after the match on Thursday, but the two players were too divided to make a decision.

After collecting various opinions on the two players, it is known that the opinions are so divided that it is difficult to raise either side's hand. "50 to 50" is not exaggerated at all.

Elias is clearly recognized for his pitching class itself. On top of that, since he took six weeks off due to a muscular dystrophy, he is expected to throw stronger pitches in the second half of last year. He was also active in the second half of last year. If Elias remains sluggish, SSG could leave room to replace him with a new foreign pitcher in July or August. Still, some predict that foreigners will be better pooled between July and August than now. However, the concern is that he is old and he has many minor injuries here and there. He played in only seven games due to minor injuries this year. There is no rule that this pattern should not be repeated.

In terms of ball power, Shirakawa is said to be as good as Elias. He boasts fast ball speed and vertical movement. He is attractive as Elias' fastball. He has good forkball and curveball, too. As a young player, expectation is high that he will overcome difficulties in terms of physical strength as well. Batters are known to give an attractive evaluation to Shirakawa's ball. However, the club clearly admits that his past performance was partly based on "unfamiliarity." As he does not take a look back at the full-time, it is only then clear what kind of ball power and physical condition he will display at the end of the season. If he loses weight between August and September, SSG does not even have a replacement card left. There is a gambling factor.

The SSG will agonize over the issue until this week before making a decision during its away match against the NC Dinosaurs in Changwon next week. The contract period will remain open until July 4. If Shirakawa is given up, he could have a farewell game in the bullpen session on Wednesday. If he agonizes over whether to finish the game, he will be the starting pitcher on Tuesday, watch his pitching performance, and Elias may give up his contract on Friday and start the game on Friday. There are no problems under contract or rules. As both Elias and Shirakawa are players who are also interested in using alternative resources, he has to carefully calculate the "boomerang" as well. SSG postponed its decision because of such complicated reasons.