"Something changed once he departed for the Korean Baseball Organization in 2025. Signing with the Hanwha Eagles, the team that former Blue Jay Hyun Jin Ryu plays for, Ponce went on to post a league best 1.89 ERA and 2.15 FIP in 180.2 innings pitched, striking out 36.2% of the batter he faced with a 5.9 BB%. A big reason for this is his fastball ticking up in velocity, as well as adding a nasty kick-changeup as his secondary."
"Well, he hurled a gem on Apr. 15, striking out 12 batters over the score of seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, but giving up three walks. Overall, a terrific start to pick up his third win in the KBO, but his next start was even better. Ponce pitched another seven innings, the fifth time in six games he pitched at least six innings. He threw three additional pitches, but struck out 13 while allowing just one hit."
Ponce was drafted 55th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 but recorded limited success in MLB with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020–21, posting a 5.86 ERA and 5.47 FIP across 55.1 innings. He then spent three seasons in Japan’s NPB, finishing 2024 with a 6.72 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 67 innings and an 18.2% K rate. In 2025 he signed with the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles and posted a league-best 1.89 ERA and 2.15 FIP in 180.2 innings, striking out 36.2% with a 5.9% walk rate after adding velocity and a kick-changeup. The Toronto Blue Jays signed him to a three-year, $30 million deal.
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