Eric Peddie among MLB's 9 players who exceeded expectations

Eric Peddie of the St. Louis Cardinals, who returned to Major League Baseball (MLB) this year after winning 20 games in Korean professional baseball with NC last year, was selected as one of the nine players who exceeded expectations in the 2024 season.'

On Wednesday, MLB.com, the official website of MLB, highlighted nine players who performed better than expected this season, including Peddie. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City), outfielder Jurickson Profar of the San Diego Padres, and pitcher Jack Flaherty of the Los Angeles Dodgers also made the list.

Peddie, who won the NC pitching triple crown (most wins, average ERA, strikeouts) and was named MVP last year, signed a 2-year, $15 million contract with the Chicago White Sox before this season and returned to MLB.

Peddie played the role of ace with seven wins, four losses, and an ERA of 3.11 for the White Sox (31 wins, 101 losses, 0.235 winning percentage), which has the lowest winning percentage among the 30 teams in both MLB leagues. He was traded to St. Louis, aiming for the postseason, before the trade deadline. Peddie is struggling with one win, three losses, and an ERA of 4.23 in five games with his new team, but his overall season record stands at eight wins, seven losses, and an ERA of 3.31.

The secret to his success is his sweeper, which dominated the Korean stage. MLB.com explained, “Peddie’s slugging percentage against curveballs in the 2022 season was 0.504. However, after changing his curveball to a sweeper, he is recording a slugging percentage against 0.296 and a batting average against 0.148.” The statistical prediction system 'ZiPS' forecasted Peddie's strikeout rate per nine innings at 7.7 before the season, but Peddie is striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings this season.


Heon-Jae Lee uni@donga.com