Seokmin, Jin, Kwanghyun. There's no left-handed ace at Kook University again this year, right? Attention is paid to Koo Chang-mo, Lee Eui-ri, Son Joo-young, and Kim Jin-wook as the first, third, and fourth rookies
Feb 10, 2025
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Kim Kwang-hyun picked Ahn Woo-jin and Kwak Bin and Moon Dong-ju, while Ryu Hyun-jin chose Ahn Woo-jin and Won Tae-in Moon Dong-ju. Yoon Seok-min also chose Ahn Woo-jin as the best pitcher.
In the end, all of their pitchers were right-handed pitchers. When Yoon Seok-min said "There are no young left-handed pitchers," Kim Kwang-hyun thought "Is there a left-handed?" and all three could not mention a single player. There was no left-handed pitcher that clearly came to their mind.
In the previous KBO league, left-handed aces led the national team. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Koo Dae-sung defeated Japan, and Bong Jung-geun earned the nickname 'Bongyeolsa' for his good pitching and check action against Japan in the 2009 WBC. Ryu Hyun-jin and Kim Kwang-hyun Yang Hyun-jong (KIA Tigers) left-hander Troika then raised the status of Korean baseball on the international stage.
Will he have a left-handed ace who will make the national team when he expects the WBC next year.
The person receiving the most attention is Koo Chang-mo of the NC Dinos. After winning 10 games in 2019, he seemed to be selected as the next left-handed ace in the fantastic pitching of nine wins, no losses, and an ERA of 1.55 until July 2020.
But the injury was a drag. Koo Chang-mo, who signed a non-FA multi-year contract worth a total of 12.5 billion won (9 billion won per year, option 3.5 billion won) for six years in 2023, sought to participate in the Asian Games that year, but failed to participate amid injury recovery issues, and eventually joined Sangmu after undergoing surgery for a ulnar fracture in his left forearm. Koo Chang-mo, who took the mound in the last two games of last year's season in Sangmu, is scheduled to be discharged from the military in June this year. If you throw it in a healthy way, you have the qualifications to become an ace in the national team, and you have already proved it to some extent.
KIA Tigers' Lee Eui-ri is growing step by step. Pitchers who are not easily attacked due to their excellent fast ball control over 150km. However, the homework was not to control well. Still, since joining the team in 2021, he has steadily gained experience in starting and improved little by little. By selecting the national team, he also experienced a big game. He was dropped from the Asian Games national team due to ball control in 2023, but he also joined the APBC national team and showed good pitching.
Last year, he suffered an elbow injury in four games and ended the season after undergoing reconstructive elbow internal ligament and bone fragment removal. Since he has excellent pitching, it is clear that he will ultimately succeed if he turns the growth clock, which has been paused for a while since his return.
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Son Joo-young said, `I think we need to work hard because his name didn't come out of the mouth of our seniors. I think I need to show an overwhelming performance and imprint my name on my seniors", and aimed to win 15 games.
Lotte Giants' Kim Jin-wook, who started last season and has changed from the past, should also pay attention this year. Kim Jin-wook, who went 4-3 with a 5.31 ERA in 19 appearances last year, escaped the fear of a walk that plagued him. He struck out 87 during 84 ⅔ innings, drastically reducing his walk to 44. The number is 4.7 per nine innings, down significantly from 7.2 in 2023 and 6.8 in 2022. Originally, he was scheduled to join the military this year, but he canceled it due to injury and played for another year to promote growth.
Rookie players who joined this year are also attracting attention. The top-ranked nominees in the first round, third and fourth rankings are all left-handed pitchers. Chung Hyun-woo of Kiwoom, Bae Chan-seung of Samsung, and Kim Tae-hyun of Lotte, who are ranked fourth, are highly anticipated prospects.
Chung Hyun-woo headed to Taiwan because rookies were supposed to go to the second-tier spring camp according to the club's principle, and Bae Chan-seung and Kim Tae-hyun joined the first-tier camp. Attention is focusing on left-handed pitchers who distribute fast balls over 150 kilometers. The recent trend also gives rookies a chance to play in the first division, so we look forward to their performance this season. If he takes a chance, he may emerge as an ace candidate for the national team at once like Ryu Hyun-jin, Kim Kwang-hyun, and Yang Hyun-jong.
Maintaining the physical strength and completeness of the repertoire of professional stages different from those in high school are prerequisites for settlement. It is also expected that the key will be whether he will be able to display his pitching that confidently utilizes his strengths in front of numerous spectators without being intimidated.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
