Will O’Grady become a savior who can add strength to Hanwha’s offense?
Hanwha’s gaze toward O’Grady is complicated. This is because he is a hitter with a low average. I’m leaning on one big thing, and it’s important how much the ratio will be.
Now, he’s only had 3 games, but O’Grady isn’t far off expectations. He seems highly likely to become a blackmailer. However, Hanwha hopes that the probability of hitting a home run will be higher than in Japan.스포츠토토
In 2019, O’Gredi played for Cincinnati’s Triple-A club, recording 28 home runs in one season, and finished verifying his power. He recorded 91 home runs and 95 stolen bases in 658 games in 7 seasons in the minor leagues, and also hit 4 homers in 62 games in 3 seasons in the major leagues.
In 2022, he experienced Asian baseball by playing for Seibu in Japan with Birch Smith. He also showed his slugging power by hitting double-digit home runs (14) on the Japanese stage as well.
Hanwha general manager Son Hyuk said, “O’Grady is an outfielder who can play left and right corners in defense as well as center field, and has power in attack.” I decided to sign him because I knew he was a good player.”
Next, general manager Son said, “I spent a full season in Seibu, Japan, and gained the experience of being intensively checked by opposing pitchers in the center of the batting line, and I expect that experience will help me quickly adapt to the KBO league.” said.
What kind of hitter was O’Grady playing for Seibu?
His overall performance was a batting average of 0.213, on-base percentage of 0.312, slugging percentage of 0.384, and 14 home runs.
He can be said to be the type of hitter who goes over when caught but has a very low chance of being caught.
MBC Sports+ commentator Jeong Min-cheol, who looked at O-Grady, said, “I don’t think Hanwha should expect a 30% batting average from O-Grady. He was evaluated as a player to be watched with weight on his long hitting power.”
Then, what is the best realistic expectation for O’Grady?
An evaluation came out that a batting average of 0.260 and 30 home runs could be called a jackpot.
A commentator with an expertise in batting said, “O’Grady is a typical big shot player. He has a big swing and power. Instead, he has a mechanism that inevitably reduces his contact ability. He is particularly likely to show weakness on falling breaking balls. Considering that the ability of Korean pitchers to use breaking pitches has recently improved, I think it may not be easy to adapt. However, he believes that he can record his own number of home runs if he expects a big hit and consistently uses them in the center of the batting line. Noh Si-hwan’s pace this season is unusual. He can also expect a synergistic effect with Chae Eun-seong. I think if you use O’Grady behind them as a built-in, the destructive power can be doubled. He is a player who has a high possibility of blackmailing, but I think he can be a force if he misses only misplaced pitches. He said, “Don’t be too greedy, but if you wait and expect a batting average of 0.260, I think he is a player who can achieve his own results.”
O’Grady has had three hits so far, all singles. His destructive power has yet to be shown. His batting average is also low at 0.214.
However, he is not a resource that was brought in looking at the 30% in the first place. He must have fully considered Hanwha’s inferior contact ability.
So far, it can be said that the play that Hanhwa expected from O’Grady is not. How and when a home run is hit is very important. He could be in a much better shape if he threw in the emotional burden.
30 home runs with a batting average of 0.260. It remains to be seen if O’Grady can achieve this realistic goal given to him.
