Even if a player has a very high ceiling, there is still a high chance that he will not be able to realize his talent without being fully developed. In addition to innate talent and hard work, team development is an important link.
Xu Ruoxi and Gu Linruiyang, who have high ceilings in secondary vocational schools, have slowly completed their succession through the protection and training of their parent team, and their ace posture has obviously taken shape. Currently, they have proven their strength in the Asian Championships and AFC Champions League. All that’s left is to prove that he can pitch for a full season.
Today’s protagonist is also a player with a high ceiling who attracted everyone’s attention when he was a student. That is Sun Yilei, who joined the Nippon Professional Baseball Ham Fighters as a training player.
Video source of Sun Yilei’s Asian Championship pitching video: YouTube channel ELTA Sports
It is a pity that Sun Yilei failed to get a formal player contract, but it is also understandable. At the age of 18, it may still be difficult to cope with the level of the Japanese army at this stage. Many pitchers who graduated from Japanese high schools at the same time may not be able to establish themselves in the first team in their rookie years, let alone Sun Yilei, who is a foreign general.
As a foreign general, Sun Yilei’s starting point was cultivation rather than immediate combat prowess. This was not the first example of a Japanese military officer in modern times. Yes, today’s other protagonist is Carter Stewart Jr., the software banking hawk.
Carter Stewart Jr. pitching video video source: YouTube channel Pacific League TV
In 2019, SoftBank signed Carter Stewart Jr., who was selected in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft, and signed a six-year, $7 million long-term contract. At that time, he negotiated a break with the Warriors due to his injury, and finally chose to join the SoftBank Eagles with a long-term contract guarantee.
Carter Stewart Jr. started playing in the second team in 2020, and his results over the years are as follows:
2020 Second Division: 15 games, 3 wins, 7 losses, 67 innings, ERA 4.16
2021 Second Division: 12 games, 6 wins, 1 loss, 53.2 innings, 1.84 ERA
2022 Second Team: 14 games, 3 wins, 5 losses, 53.2 innings, 3.19 ERA
2023 Second Team: 4 games, 0 wins, 0 losses, 23 innings, 1.17 ERA
Carter Stewart Jr.’s first-place results over the years are as follows:
2021 First Army: 11 games, 0 wins, 2 losses, 23.2 innings, 6.08 ERA
2023 First Army: 14 games, 3 wins, 6 losses, 77.1 innings, 3.38 ERA
Information source: baseball-reference
A few years have passed, and there are many different opinions on the Internet about whether cultivation is successful. However, at least for SoftBank Eagle, they consider it a success. The 24-year-old has been extended for an additional two years before he has finished his six-year contract, bringing the total contract value to about US$10 million. This is undoubtedly the biggest move for Carter Stewart Jr.’s performance.
I personally think that in the four years from 2020 to 2023, Carter Stewart Jr.’s development has been a little slower than I expected. Judging from this year’s results, WHIP 1.45 is still slightly high, mainly because he is unstable in controlling the ball. Slightly too many walks. However, he is still very young now. If he corrects his problem of too many walks, there will be a lot of room for improvement in the future.
I will give Carter Stewart Jr. as an example because he is somewhat similar to Sun Yilei:
Both of them are great talents in their home countries, and both signed contracts with the purpose of development rather than immediate combat capability. Both of them have long-term contracts, Stewart has a 6-year contract and Sun Yilei has a 4-year contract.
Next, let’s take a look at the three major advantages of Carter Stewart Jr. in the past four years of his development.：
Clear role positioning
Initially, Carter Stewart Jr. served as a reliever and a starter. Those who join the first team in 2021 will mostly come as bullpen pitchers. However, the SoftBank Hawks’ ultimate goal is of course to develop him into an excellent starting pitcher.
Starting in 2023, he will also be fixed as a starting pitcher. The first and second corps also pitched well last year, and they should be trained with starting pitchers until 2026.
When it comes to unclear positioning that affects a pitcher’s career, the first thing that comes to my mind is former pitcher Ye Yongjie of the Brothers Elephants. There is also a very detailed article on the site describing his career from student baseball to professional baseball. Here is a brief introduction. Pass.
The most beautiful mistake: Former Gubao ace Ye Yongjie Author of the article: Yi Guansan
[Being an amateur may not necessarily lead to a better career]: Golden Dragon Flag MVP who blocked Gao Yuan’s four consecutive championships Author of the article: Sports Vision from Stanley’s Perspective
Every year, the bureau’s numerical control management does a good job
SoftBank Eagle has done a good job in digital control over Carter Stewart Jr. in the past four years. The first and second armies combined had 67 innings in the first year, 77.1 innings in the second year, 53.2 innings in the third year, and 100.1 innings in the fourth year. Judging from the fact that the season of the second army is about 120 games and the season of the first army is 143 games, in fact, the number of pitching innings is not that many, or even a little less. Maybe it was because of previous injuries that I slowly extended the number of games step by step. However, it was only a healthy body in the first three years that allowed him to pitch more than 100 innings in the fourth year.
2024-02-26 04:52:51
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