When he last pitched in the majors for the Cincinnati Reds and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2022, right-hander Robert Dugger averaged 89.4 miles per hour (mph) with his four-seam fastball. Now pitching for the SSG Landers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Dugger touched 93 mph during a scrimmage in Taiwan on Sunday and sat in the low 90s. It's a notable uptick in velocity for a pitcher in his late 20s, and Dugger credits that jump to getting consistent opportunities to pitch in Triple-A last year. "I think last year helped me a lot," Dugger told reporters Thursday at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, after arriving back from camp. He made 29 starts for the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate for the Texas Rangers, and went 7-10 with a 4.31 ERA. He struck out 143 in 146 1/3 innings. Those raw numbers may not jump off the page, but Dugger, 28, said the campaign was more than just about his win-loss record. "Being consistent throughout the whole year, knowing when I was going to pitch ev ery single time through the rotation, that kind of built me into the offseason," Dugger explained. "And I knew how to plan for this season." Dugger said he chose to sign with the Landers precisely to give himself a chance to "be somewhere in one spot the whole season." Dugger will indeed be a fixture in the Landers rotation, as he joins the returning left-hander Roenis Elias at the top. The team will count on Dugger to put up some big numbers on the board, with manager Lee Soong-yong saying he expects the American to win at least 10 games. "A lot of people have been saying 20 wins. I don't know about 20," Dugger said with a smile. "But we'll see. Hopefully, it's just a very consistent year without any injuries." Dugger, who has also pitched for the Miami Marlins and the Seattle Mariners, said he brings more to the table than just his five-pitch mix. "I compete no matter what I have out there on the mound. You're going to get my 100 percent every single time," he said. "I'm not going to back down. I stay calm and collected on the mount no matter what's happening behind me." Dugger said Elias had given him some tips on how to pitch to certain hitters, but Dugger is more interested in finding out about KBO hitters himself. "Honestly, it's my first year so I need to see how the hitters react to my pitching and then kind of go from there," he said, adding that Elias had warned him about the Korean Series champions LG Twins, who feature several left-handed batters in the lineup. Though Dugger has not yet gotten around to watching clips of KBO games he has saved, he already knows how pesky hitters in this league can be. "I know that with two strikes, they're very good just fouling the ball off. So I know there are going to be competitive at-bats with two strikes," he said. "And so I need to know how to make pitches with two strikes." During camp, Landers pitching coach Bae Young-soo complimented Dugger on his unpredictability and said he had never seen a pitcher of that mold. "Hopefully, he meant that as a go od thing," Dugger said with a grin. "That's where I feel like I should be anyways ... to be with the team and show that I'm ready to play." Source: Yonhap News Agency