Mike Tauchman (24, Chicago Cubs) started as right fielder No. 2 in the 2024 Major League Baseball away game against the New York Mets held at Flushing Citi Field in New York, New York, USA on the 3rd (Korean time), going 1 hit in 5 at-bats, 1 walk, and 1 walk. Recorded a strikeout. Season batting average 0.289.
auchman had a total of 1 hit in 8 at-bats against the Mets on the 2nd and 3rd. Still, he is batting in the low .200s and has an OPS of 0.904. This player is also familiar to KBO League fans. At Hanwha, in 144 games in the 2022 season, he had 166 hits in 575 at-bats, a batting average of 0.289, 12 home runs, 43 RBIs, 88 runs, and an OPS of 0.799.
It wasn’t a bad performance even at the time. However, his home run and slugging ability were not certain, and he was not strong in terms of chances. In the end, the contract renewal was not concluded. Afterwards, Tauchman returned to the United States. He signed a minor contract with the Cubs and was called up to the major leagues, where he played in 108 games. He had a batting average of 0.252, 8 home runs, 48 RBIs, 64 runs, and an OPS of 0.740.
Whether it was last year or this year, Tuckman’s role is as an outfield backup. However, there are signs that he will perform better this season. The Cubs recently lost Cody Bellinger (ribs) and Seiya Suzuki (obliques) due to injuries. That’s why Tuckman’s performance is very encouraging.
Tuckman’s annual salary this season is only $1.95 million (about 2.7 billion won). He should be considered the most cost-effective player in the major leagues at the beginning of this season. Looking at the performance this season, there seems to be no reason for Bellinger and Suzuki to be pushed out even if they are both operating normally.
Recently, there are several foreign players who have achieved the feat of being exported from the KBO League to the Major League. Representative examples include Merrill Kelly (Arizona Diamondbacks) and this season’s Eric Peddy (Chicago White Sox). However, among foreign hitters who left Korea, there are very few successful cases in the major leagues.
The leaders’ view is that the level of hitters in the KBO League has improved significantly compared to before. Therefore, there is a view that if foreign pitchers succeed to a certain degree in the KBO League, they will have the minimum competitiveness to survive in the Major League. (Of course, the general opinion is that individual efforts are much more important.)
On the other hand, when it comes to the mound, the gap between the sure-win team and the chasing team is large for all 10 teams. There are very few teams that have a proper 5th starter. It is not easy for foreign hitters to succeed in Korea, but even if they succeed, there is absolutely no guarantee that they will succeed in the major leagues. In that respect, Tuckman’s challenge is clearly meaningful.
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