KBO: Dan Straily’s recently found success with the Lotte Giants

After a rough 2019 season with the Baltimore Orioles, Dan Straily is having a successful season with the Lotte Giants of the KBO.

To put it as nicely as possible, the 2019 season was a complete and utter disaster for Dan Straily.

Signed as a free agent in late-March by the Baltimore Orioles, no one was expecting Straily to dominate his way through the American League East last season, but the pickup seemed to be a decent signing for Baltimore, giving a young and inexperienced starting rotation a low-cost, veteran innings eater.

Straily made 14 appearances for the Orioles (eight starts), going 2-4 with a 9.82 ERA, 1.99 WHIP, and a 4.2 HR/9 IP rate. Pitching in Camden Yards makes even the best starters susceptible to giving up a few extra homers, but Straily’s 22 home runs allowed across 47.2 IP was quite an accomplishment.

Straily found a bit of success when he was sent down to Triple-A Norfolk, but was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2019 trade deadline for cash considerations. He never appeared in a major league game with Philadelphia, spending the rest of the season in AAA.

The 31-year-old starter made a smart decision this offseason, signing a $1 million contract with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization, joining a handful of former Orioles pitchers and fellow veterans attempting to find their footing again.

Straily has adapted well to baseball life in Korea. As of June 20th, Straily leads all KBO pitchers in innings pitched (55.2) and strikeouts (62) while currently sitting with a 1-2 record and 2.10 ERA in nine starts for Lotte. His last outing featured 12 punchouts, a season-high for any pitcher in the KBO.

His 28.2% strikeout rate ranks second in the league, as does his .194 batting average against (ranks third with a 1.01 WHIP).

According to Josh Herzenberg, Pitching Coordinator for the Lotte Giants, Straily’s fastball is averaging 90.8 mph. That’s the highest average fastball velocity for Straily since 2013 when he averaged 90.9 mph.

While the fastball velocity is still below the average MLB fastball, Straily has been able to successfully mix in a curveball and dominate with his slider. Per Sports Info Solutions, hitters are 1-21 against Straily’s slider. With the Orioles, opponents hit .441 and slugged .932 against that particular pitch.

With continued success in 2020, there’s certainly a chance that Straily finds his way back to a Major League Baseball roster. He’s only 31 and the advanced numbers on his pitches that have been made public show solid improvements across the board.

The right organization just might be able to keep Dan Straily on his current positive upswing and find the sort of value the Orioles were hoping for in 2019.