Why did the Kiwoom Heroes abandon such a player? The ace of the last place, who was called by the favorite, is already showing signs of a big hit. 스포츠토토

KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul smiled satisfactorily at OSEN, saying, "I brought Heysus really well," in his first showdown of the season against the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 4th. 

KT acquired a new foreign pitcher Enmanuel de Heysus for a total of 1 million U.S. dollars in December last year. The terms of the contract are a down payment of 200,000 dollars without incentives and a full guarantee with an annual salary of 800,000 dollars. 

With the opening of the stove league, KT has sought to renew its contract with William Cuevas, its ace player. "The best scenario is that Cuevas will be the second starter after recruiting a stronger first starter than Cuevas in the 2025 season," KT said, opting to break up with Wes Benjamin, the second starter. 

After catching Cuevas for a total of 1.5 million dollars (about 2.1 billion won), KT suddenly recruited Heyesus, who was excluded from the Kiwoom Heroes' list, and entrusted him with the ace position.

Heysus wore a Kiwoom uniform for a total of 800,000 U.S. dollars during the 2024 season and pitched well with 13 wins and 11 losses and an earned run average of 3.68 (70 earned runs in 171 ⅓ innings) in 30 games. Despite being in his first year since debut, he quickly adapted to the league and instantly acquired the title as a "talented foreign pitcher." He ranked second with 178 strikeouts, tied for third with multiple wins, and seventh with an earned run average, and was also nominated for the Golden Glove Pitcher category.

What's more surprising is that all of these are records left by Kiwoom, which ranked last in 58 wins and 86 losses (winning percentage .403) last year. In the 2024 season, Kiwoom ranked the lowest in the league in terms of team batting average (2664), scoring (672 points), home runs (104), and OPS (.717), and Heysus stood tall as a top foreign pitcher in the league with such a lineup on his back.

Heysus, who moved from the last-place team to the favorite, has been pitching overwhelmingly with one win and one loss with a 0.95 ERA (19 innings) in three games this season.

Starting with one run in six innings against Suwon Hanwha Eagles on the 22nd, which was KT's debut game, he pitched seven scoreless innings against Sajik Lotte Giants on March 28 and three runs (one earned run) in six innings against Suwon LG Twins on April 3. As in Kiwoom, he has been listed at the top of various pitching indicators, including joint first in quality starts, second in innings, third in ERA, joint third in strikeouts, and fourth in WHIP (0.79). 

When asked to rate Heysus' three games, he said, "He is sincere about baseball and knows how to throw the ball. He throws the ball when asked to play catch. He knows when, what to throw and where to throw it." 

"I'm so physically fit that I can't really lose strength. I threw 100 balls, but my 100th ball speed was 150 kilometers. Rather, I saw him throw harder and harder. He's so consistent." 

In addition to his skills and personality, he has earned the impression that he is a good pitcher. "I thought he was a good pitcher when I was a coach, but when I came here, I felt great inside," coach Lee Kang-chul said, expressing satisfaction by saying, "I continue to support my teammates after I finished pitching. I think he is a player who puts his team first."