In 24 games, he hasn’t pitched less than five innings. Kiwoom Heroes foreign starting pitcher Ariel Furado, 27, has become the KBO’s newest “innings eater” (pitcher who throws a lot of innings).
As of Sept. 29, Hurado has started 24 games, totaling 149 innings. That’s 6.2 innings per game. Surprisingly, the fewest innings he’s pitched in those 24 games is five. His longest outing was 8.2 innings on June 24 against Doosan.
Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki said of Hurado, “He’s been a very good pitcher since spring training. However, he has a history of surgery, so I was worried about that, but he fulfilled his duties this season as a third starter.”
As of Sept. 29, Hurtado has logged the second-most innings this season behind Alcantara (Doosan) with 152.1. His innings per game are the same as teammate Ahn Woo-jin’s (Kiwoom) 6.2 innings, who is also known as an innings-eater.메이저놀이터
Another thing Hong sees as a strength of Furado’s is his ability to learn. “At the beginning of the season, he struggled to pitch against domestic hitters, but as the season went on, he became smarter and smarter. I expect him to do well until the end of the season.”
Furado has a 2.84 ERA this season, but he’s only 8-8. He’s pitched well, but hasn’t been lucky enough to win. “It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get more wins,” Hong said.
However, if Furado can continue to be an “innings-eater” until the end of the season, he can give Kiwoom’s bullpen a break. It remains to be seen if Furado will surpass Alcantara for the most innings pitched.